So I watched the live-action Jungle Book trailer shown at the superbowl and wow do the visuals look fantastic but I'm more than a little apprehensive with some of the voices. They just don't seem to fit like they did back in the animated movie. Still won't detract me from seeing it though, unless it gets bad reviews that is but I'm holding out hope since The Jungle Book is one of my favourite Disney movies. Anyway, making some big changes to my schedule that will hopefully benefit everyone so look for to it. On with the show!


Chapter 63

Atop the Castle Walls

Every day, Mulan woke up expecting to see tall reeds by her window and the sound of children playing in the fields. It was when she peered out of the glass window of her hotel room however that the realization hit her that she wasn't at home anymore. In fact, she was nowhere near it. She was in another world.

It was not unusual to wake up each day and wonder how it came to all this. If she had to finger a specific moment, it must have been the scream of her mother in the morning when an 'old bearded loony' as she had described him had accidently popped into existence right in front of her. Before he could explain himself, her mother had not hesitated to label him as an intruder and proceeded to whack him with the broom that had been in her hand at the time in an attempt to force him out. As Mulan wandered out of her room rubbing her eyes, she came across this strange sight and immediately thought she was still dreaming.

"Out! Out, you thief! You crook, you pilferer! We have nothing to offer you. Get out!" Her mother cried as she continued whacking him.

"Ow! Look, if you just- OW! If you just allow me to explain, I'll… oh, now that's enough!" Merlin managed to put his hands forward. Mulan let out a gasp as one of the chairs raced forward without any sort of human contact to aid it. The chair met with the back of her mother's legs, causing her to fall backwards onto it. "There. Maybe now you'll listen, ma'am. Oh, I suppose we should get more comfortable. Would you like a cup of tea? The both of you?"

Her mother looked in the direction of Merlin's warm gaze, noticing Mulan in the room for the first time. Neither of them nodded at the wizard but he proceeded to make the tea anyway, pulling cups and a teapot out of a bag that really didn't seem capable of fitting them. Her mother's eyes grew larger and Mulan thought that she was almost certainly going to faint, so she went over to her mother and held her hand as to provide comfort.

"May I use your fire?" Merlin asked. Mulan's mother only gave a single nod. He did not wait for any further confirmation. He took out a brown stick from his bag and pointed it at the stove in the kitchen before flicking. Both Mulan and her mother felt their hearts jump along with their bodies, as they saw a small fire come to life in the room next to them. Merlin then proceeded to dance around the room, waving his hands about with the result being cups lining up on the table in front of them and the teapot floating off into the kitchen.

"You… haven't introduced yourself," Mulan said, hoping to reduce to awkward atmosphere that had been created by the man's arrival. The more pertinent question in her and her mother's minds of how in the world he was doing these magical things could wait.

"Ah, yes. The name's Merlin. As you probably have surmised by now, I'm not exactly the most average person on the street. I study in the art of magic, or in other words, I'm a highly accomplished wizard."

"Huh," was all her mother could muster. There was no raise of voice to indicate that she had been surprised or thought him insane in anyway. In fact, her voice was exactly the opposite. Monotone and unimpressed, as if spell of her initial encounter with the wizard had run its course and had worn the poor woman out.

"Hmm, they usually react a lot more different when I tell them that. Anyway, I'm afraid teleporting is a rather fastidious affair. Teleporting to other worlds, especially ones you've never been to can be rather dangerous so when I popped up right in front of you I'm afraid that was a mistake. It should have been outside. I hope that clears up the misunderstanding. Oh, looks like tea's ready."

The teapot flew from the now unlit stove back into the room and poured its contents into the three teacups that had been placed on the table. After setting the teapot down, Merlin picked up his teacup and took a sip before letting out a satisfied sigh.

"So, what welcomes you to our home?" Mulan asked. She used the word 'welcome' in its loosest definition.

"Well, I was wondering if you knew someone by the name of Fa Mulan? No idea if I've got the address right," Merlin said.

"Um, that would be me actually," Mulan said. "But who told you about me? Wait a second… Sora! Do you know a Sora?"

"I do indeed, my dear, but it isn't Sora that brought me here. Rather, I've come on a very urgent business from a friend of mine, one adept in magic like myself. Now whether you choose to accept or not is up to you but I do feel it will be better if you have some of the tea while listening," Merlin said. More so because she had a feeling the wizard wouldn't continue unless she did it, Mulan picked up the cup and took a sip. She immediately arched her eyebrows and gave a small nod of approval to herself. The tea tasted differently than what she was used to but it was still really good. Her mother followed suit.

Merlin took another sip and set the tea on the table before speaking. "I'm sure you are already aware of this and even if it hasn't been explicitly mentioned, you should have caught on by Sora and his friends' appearance. Yours is not the only world out there. There exist many worlds. As many as the number of stars you see in the sky and then some."

"Yes, I figured as much," Mulan said.

"You figured as much? Well I still have no clue. What are these worlds you talk about and what does that have to do with my daughter?" Her mother asked impatiently.

"Well the story would take at least a day to explain-"

"Well I don't have time to sit around all day so we'll take the short version if you please," her mother cut off abruptly.

"Mama, I'm sure he's about to get to that. Maybe you should have some more of the tea. Isn't it delicious?" Mulan said before signalling Merlin to go ahead with a nod.

"Well to put simply, the worlds are in danger."

"Aren't they always? I don't think Sora has ever popped by without having some important reason as to why he does. He's done a lot for everyone he meets I suspect, and at such a young age too. I hope you're giving him breaks," Mulan said.

"It's true a lot of things have been affecting him recently but he has good friends and he knows that. As long as he has them by his side, the lad can get through the day with his head held high. But this time, the problem is too big for him alone to handle. We have a good amount of people with the same power as Sora but they've been spread out across other worlds. Now in the time that you and Sora last met I'm afraid to say that two other key players have popped up. One of them seems to have taken a liking for going after Sora and the other we don't know nearly as much about but we currently have Sora and Luna going after their leader and the rest gathering as much intel as we possibly can about these groups."

Mulan took another sip of her tea before asking, "They aren't like Organization XIII, was it? I seem to recall them giving Sora a lot of trouble about two years ago."

"No, they aren't like them, at least as far as their motives are concerned. It really is hard to say with so little information to go on at the moment but we do know that the group whose leader Sora is chasing at the moment may be after the Princesses of Heart, and that's why I've come to you today," Merlin said. He continued to explain briefly what exactly the Princesses of Heart were and their function. Even though it was brief, it still felt as if information had just been thrown at her like a pile of jigsaw pieces that she was then asked to put together quickly.

"So if I understand this correctly, all the worlds in the realm of light, which we're in, hinge on the fate of these seven princesses?" Mulan asked. She had long since adopted a silent vow to stop looking at her mother for fear of seeing what emotions were on her face.

"Exactly, you've got it. However, more recently, one of them was taken from her world. As such we've felt the best way to keep the rest of them safe is to keep them together in one world, where we can keep an eye on them. This doesn't come without its complications obviously. As I've previously mentioned, because Sora and the others are spread out then it means we'll need someone else to protect them, a bodyguard in other words."

"You… you want me?" Mulan asked in surprise. "I- If this task is as important as you say, I don't think I would be a good fit for it. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill."

"And not even just that," her mother said. "This is her home. Suddenly you bring up all these other worlds and you want her to go off who knows where. Protecting the emperor of your homeland is one thing, but looking after a bunch of nobodies however many miles away is something else entirely."

"And you are happily entitled to your own opinion though I'd argue that those nobodies happen to be more important, but I'm not here to discuss that," Merlin said before looking at Mulan. "It is a very huge responsibility but you won't be alone. There are others who will make sure you are well taken care of. As for the reasons we decided on asking you, there are two. The first is that as your mother has mentioned, you've been a bodyguard to the emperor for quite some time. You're even among his inner circle, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's true," Mulan confirmed slowly. "But who mentioned that? Sora?"

"No, actually. It was the emperor himself. It was another of Sora's friends, Riku, who mentioned a land of the most excellent warriors to my other wizard friend, Yen Sid. With that knowledge, he sent me to talk to the emperor and he referred me to you. You were selected precisely for your ability to handle a situation as complex as protecting the emperor. You've shown exceptional capabilities, so the emperor tells me, and if you have no trouble protecting him and three princesses I also hear, you would most definitely be suited towards this task."

"The emperor himself recommended me? I would have thought he would pick Shang. He's more adept at this sort of thing than me," Mulan admitted.

Merlin chuckled. "Well clearly the emperor didn't think so. The second reason we thought you were the best for this job is because… well, the existence of the other worlds and Keyblades and the princesses really should be kept as much a secret as possible. If people suddenly found out about these things you can imagine the chaos that would ensue. Until recently we thought it best not to meddle in the affairs of other worlds, but our enemies are going out of their way to threaten that peace. We've come to the realization that we'll need all the help we can get to combat this threat, even if it means breaking down the borders we've worked so hard to keep intact all this time. We've felt the need to start off with one person for now, just to see how things go and coupled with the first reason we ended up picking you. Think of this as a trial run of sorts. The plan is that you'll only be gone from here for a few months by which time hopefully we'll have defeated these groups and you'll be able to return to your world. So what do you say?"

What else could Mulan say except that she needed time to think about it? When Merlin gave her the go ahead, she and her mother immediately went outside where her grandmother and father were talking and discussed it with them. Her mother had been vehemently against the idea and her father had sought to agree, at least until Mulan brought up the fact that the emperor himself had recommended it. Once it had been clear that she was a fighting a losing battle, her mother submitted and told her the best person she could listen to was ultimately herself.

Now she was in Radiant Garden and living a completely different life to the one she had been previously even if it was the same job. Her assimilation into a new culture had to come quickly, that much she learned when the restoration committee had gone out of their way to take her shopping for clothes, something that seemed natural for them and not so much for her. The buildings were unlike any she had ever seen, some even made completely of glass much to her surprise. She had thought she was in a completely different world to her home when she had visited the Imperial City for the first time, what with its magnificent and stunning double-eaved buildings in contrast to the ones in the countryside. If that had been a different world then this must have been a whole other universe.

It was still dark out when Mulan had woken up. The clock mounted on the wall of her room told her it was five in the morning. She had woken up a lot earlier than usual then. Mulan stretched and tilted her head from side to side before sliding out of bed. She had a feeling that she would not be able to get back to sleep so easily, although her sleep had been quite comfortable.

She walked over to the window instead and peered out of the window. She was on the fifth floor of a seven floor building, covering a wide area of land just outside of the residential district. The Zero District was what they called this place, Mulan had learned. The reason why had to do with the number zero and its shape. As the district was right in the middle of the Garden with all other districts circling it like a ring, it was only fitting for it to be called as such.

Other than the park on the opposite side of the street, there wasn't really much to see at this time in the morning, and Mulan did not expect to see anything. After all, who in the world would be going out at five in the morning for no reason at all? From what she understood, the majority of jobs in Radiant Garden usually started around nine in the morning lasting until sometime before midnight. It was true that back in her world, farmers would usually start quite early in the morning but she knew nothing similar to be happening here.

She was about to turn away from her window when she caught sight of something underneath the streetlights. She turned her head and pressed her forehead against the cool glass. This something was not actually just something but two somethings. Two people. That was all she could make out, for their figures too small away to see. From what she could tell, they appeared to be talking to each other before starting on their way again. These actions in themselves would not have constituted as unusual to Mulan if they had not been looking around cautiously as they walked. As she mulled over whether to let them be or investigate she realized that even if she were barking up the wrong tree, it certainly wouldn't hurt to at least tail them.

She grabbed her leather jacket from chair and as she crossed the room she looked down at the carpet on the floor next to her bed where a small red dragon lay snoring. She smiled at this, and not wanting to disturb his slumber hastily left her room.


As Neuge raised her fist, the Shadow Man raised his hands defensively. "Woah, hold it there! Surely we can settle this like good upstanding adults. Do we need to take this to playground brawling?"

Neuge smirked. "Well I can't say I know much about playground brawling but I've had plenty of bar fights, the difference being unlike those that this is a pretty justified beating I would say. I'd certainly like to talk but I know I'd get nowhere with you KRONOS scum. Actually there are three things in this universe that I would consider scummy. Pedophiles, people who don't clean the toilet seat after they're done with it, and hipsters. Now I may not be able to solve those problems but you are not them. You're not scum. You're worse than it. So you understand why I prefer to settle things with my fists, don't you? Your kind can't be reasoned with. The only word you seem to respond to is suffering. Well I know true suffering so let me show you my interpretation of the word."

The Shadow Man laughed and lowered his hands to start clapping. "Now this is just excellent. So it's your conviction against ours, is it? You hate us and want to see us erased from the face of humanity and we hate the current establishment and wish to destroy it. I look forward to seeing whose hatred prevails then. Beagle Boys, do your thing!"

Behind her Neuge could hear four separate snickers as they advanced in on their prey. Neuge spun around to meet them and curtsied before adopting her stance. The second smallest of the four moved first. Neuge sidestepped out of the way as the beagle charged in and hand chopped where she knew to be the pressure point in the neck. With that beagle down, she ducked quickly to avoid the left hook of the third largest beagle and delivered a powerful fist to her attacker's ribs.

Two down, two more to go. Neuge stood back up and jumped away to get a fuller view of her next opponent. He was the largest of the four, built like a mountain that towered over her. Neuge doubted she had anything to worry about. If intimidation by increasing size was the only thing they could threaten her with, they never had much to threaten her to begin with.

"Now let me make this easy for ya. Don't worry, I promise it'll be quick," said the giant in a cockney accent, something that was most definitely not native to this world. As the Mountain attempted to punch her, Neuge leaned back, avoiding the swing of his fist and extended her legs out, the heel of her right shoe making contact with his kneecap. This knocked the Mountain back and stopped him from swinging again. Neuge took advantage and rushed in delivering several punches to the gut and ending with a stretched backwards flip while throwing out an axe-like kick. Her shoes connected with the Mountain's chin and launched him into the air, sending him into a box of crates nearby.

As she landed back on the ground, she realized she didn't have time to be satisfied with her perfect moon flip and pivoted around to meet the smallest of the group, raising her fists once again. The small beagle gulped and shrugged before swinging his arm… and then he delivered a strong blow to his own face.

Well that… just happened. Neuge blinked in confusion. She dropped her stance and tucked a strand of black hair that had fallen out of place and tucked it behind her ear.

"Well, that was all rather fun and exciting but if that's all you have then I- huh?" Neuge turned to look at the Shadow Man to find only Pete standing there, cowardly as usual. She opened her mouth to ask him where he had gone but felt her body suddenly slammed against the wall by an invisible force. Neuge squirmed and writhed in an attempt to wriggle her way out of the hold of… whatever it was that was pinning her down, but her attempts were completely unsuccessful. "Huh… what is this?"

"You can fight. I'll give you that, but your hatred's just not strong enough. Not against ours anyway," Neuge could hear the Shadow Man say in her ear. She was sure he hadn't been anywhere near her until just now. Maybe he could disappear and reappear at will? "Oh, you must be wondering how I got so close to you," he continued as if reading her mind. "It's nothing too big, you see. We all have demons, shadows that follow us wherever we go. Some of us are just more in tune with our demons than others. My friends on the other side helped me realize that. What I'm getting at I suppose is that it isn't me that is holding you to the wall like that. It's you. Your own shadow."

"Hmph, you must be a fool if you think I'll believe that. True, I have memories I'd rather forget, but I haven't. I've learned to embrace them, to let them make me stronger. My shadow doesn't trail behind me. I've learned to walk alongside it. And you? Where does your shadow stand? Oh, is that fear in your eyes I see? I'm assuming it's not me you fear, so it must be your-"

"ARGH!" With his cane held in both hands, he let out a frustrated roar and thrust the end with purple globe forward, straight into Neuge's stomach. Neuge grimaced and her face contorted in pain but she held in her breath and refused to let out a gasp. The Shadow Man lowered the cane and stepped back, shaking his head. "Woah, cool it, Facilier. You're better than this and you know it."

"So your name's Facilier?" Neuge murmured.

"Doctor… Facilier, if you would. I'm sure it's the last name you'll ever remember." The witchdoctor pointed his cane towards the metal canisters that were in the back of the room. "Now, I can only imagine it would be a waste to kill you without finding out how much you and your friends know about us first. You know what are in these?"

"No idea. Cow's milk?" Neuge pretended to guess with an innocent voice.

"Heh-heh, not exactly. Since you so willingly threw yourself in harm's way by coming here, foolishly alone, might I add, then I don't see why you can't be the first participant to try our new… product. It's easy to say one thing when you think differently. 'I've learned to walk alongside it', huh? We'll see about that. What do you think, Pete?"

"Well it's a good thing she's not alone then! Pearl!"

Before Dr. Facilier could fully turn to look at the new intruder, the light elemental spell struck him and threw him into the wall. Neuge felt the invisible restrains on her disappear and she landed on all fours. She looked up to see two familiar looking round ears.

"Satellite Dish, you're here!" Neuge exclaimed in mock excitement.

"Err, it's Mickey. Was this you?" Mickey asked, nodding his head at the four unconscious Beagle Boys lying on the ground.

"Naturellement, well, three of them anyway. We'll say the last of them reached a… period of enlightenment," Neuge said. "You know I could have handled it by myself."

"Didn't look that way to me." Mickey gave a shrug but had a cheerful smile plastered on his face. "Still, aren't you glad I came anyway?"

"How did you find us?" Neuge asked, curious to know how Mickey could have possibly found his way to the warehouse without any guidance.

"Well, it was kinda a guess. When I couldn't figure out where you and the truck had gone off to, I was about to give up and wait for you to come back by the docks when another truck drove past me. I figured that I may as well take my chances and follow it, and it led me right here," Mickey explained.

"Nice adapting there. I guess we should finish this the- Oh you've got to be kidding!" Neuge slammed her fist into the wall, causing Mickey to jump. The cause of her frustration? At some point in their conversation, both Dr. Facilier and Pete had disappeared. The only ones left were the four Beagle Boys who Neuge and Mickey had been watching over while talking.


Once Mulan had reached the castle it had become clear that the two figures she had seen were not citizens of Radiant Garden. From the back, Mulan could make out one with blonde hair and a shimmering blue dress. Female, certainly. The other was also female. Wavy raven hair down to her slender waist. There was not much Mulan could see though from the back other than that she seemed to be wearing a green and black outfit.

Mulan waited until they were on the postern rooftop before choosing to make herself known. Her calling out to them signalled them to turn around so she could see their faces. Their appearances could not have differed so strikingly. One was more confident, a smirk playing on her pale-green face. Her eyes were a piercing green and she wore lipstick as black as midnight. The other girl seemed regal but solitary in her own thoughts. She did not look at Mulan but instead her eyes were cast downward.

"Unless you two are planning on attending an early morning fancy dress party, I don't think you two are from around here, are you?" Mulan questioned.

"Oh, aren't you the little genius? I guess you must be with the restoration committee then?" The pale skinned one replied. She looked at the other girl. "Elsa, go on ahead. I thought this would be too boring to take on but it looks like I might just be able to have some fun after all."

Elsa nodded and continued on down the stairs towards the entrance of Ansem's room. Mulan ran forward to stop her but her opponent jumped in the way to block her off. She held up an index finger and tutted, wagging it from side to side.

"Uh-uh-uh. Didn't they teach you not to go for desserts before you were done with the main course?"

"And just what will I be having for the 'main course', or who?" Mulan asked. She kept her hand wrapped around her sword, her father's sword rather, still placed in its orange sheath attached to her waist. Her father had told her when gifting it to her for her journey that he had only used the sword in defense. She would honor that rule and would not draw first. Besides, if someone attacked first, Mulan was confident in her ability to unsheathe quickly.

"The name's Shego," the woman answered.

"Shego… I see. I'm Mulan. I should let you know beforehand I'm rather quick when eating so your first mistake was referring to yourself as a culinary dish."

"I can't wait to see you choke on those words. HYAAH!" Shego leapt forward athletically, her hands imbued with visibly green colored energy. She was quicker than Mulan had expected. Despite having a picture in her mind beforehand of how Shego would move based on her athletic body type and height, she had to immediately throw these presumptions out of the window upon seeing how aggressively she fought.

Mulan drew her sword but refrained from attacking. She had a feeling that the green glow that was radiating from Shego's hands spelt bad news and she wanted to avoid contact with them if possible. Their dance continued with neither side being able to get a hit in on the other. Shego tried to claw at Mulan fiercely but the latter continued to sidestep and evade her. Mulan would try to get a hit in from the side but Shego was good at predicting where Mulan would be and would swing in that direction quickly, forcing Mulan to back away.

"Is this really all you've got up your sleeve? I'm disappointed. And here I thought you would provide me with entertainment. If boring me to death is your tactic, it's working," Shego said, never leaving a single moment for Mulan to attack. In all fairness, Mulan's intentions could easily be telegraphed after she had tried to do the same thing on several occasions, but she couldn't help but feel that a chance would present itself soon for her to take. It was only a matter of spotting and acting upon it within the brief second she had before Shego noticed it herself.

"Hey, it is still a tactic," Mulan pointed out. She brought her arm forwards and cut through the air diagonally with her blade, narrowly missing Shego by a few centimetres. Instead of pulling her sword back to her, she realigned her body instead with her blade in order to cover up the weakness that she had just left herself exposed to. At that same moment, Shego chose to act on the weakness Mulan had intentionally showed her and drove a punch forward but missed as Mulan shifted her position. Seeing a part of Shego's lower torso, Mulan lunged forward and slashed. Shego's evasion was quick but not quick enough. She twisted her body in an attempt to dodge Mulan's attack, and the attack did miss her torso, only to find its way to her now exposed thigh. The tip of the blade cut into Shego and left as swiftly as it entered.

Shego jumped back and looked at the cut fabric from which she could see some of her own blood. She smirked and smeared some on her thumb before holding it up for Mulan to see.

"You finally got me. I'll admit, I'm impressed. And here I thought you were holding out on me. It's an interesting thing… fighting someone other than her," Shego said.

"Her? Who are you talking about?" Mulan enquired, but her question was seemingly lost to the wind and Shego paid them no mind. She had a great excuse as well when Elsa reappeared in front of them with Kefka following behind.

"Well I hate to split and just when it looked like you were finally getting into it but it looks like my job's complete." The green glow faded from Shego's hands and she backed away from Mulan. "Not too much trouble, I presume?"

Elsa shook her head. "The password worked, as you could probably tell."

Kefka looked up to the sky and began spinning around on the spot with his arms stretched out. "AAAAAAaaaaauggh! Fresh air… Do you know how long they kept me locked up in there? Look here, my makeup is cracking! What barbarians! And here I was beginning to fear that I wouldn't be beautiful anymore."

"Keep living in your delusions, as long as I don't have to hear them," Shego muttered, looking away in disgust.

"Oh, how mean! You should know what it's like. Just look at how much you put on every day!" Kefka snapped as if he were about to have a temper tantrum.

"A lot less than you. This is my natural complexion. You put so much effort in it's kind of- no, definitely sad… and you're a guy so it's pretty darn disturbing as well."

"Oh, so you're saying that guys can't wear makeup? Sexist! I'm sure you must be fun at rock concerts!"
"Not that I've been to one but they probably have more style than a creep like you!"

Mulan stood watching this back and forth in complete bemusement. Suddenly it felt as she wasn't quite facing off against intruders but rather a bunch of children having a shouting match at each other, or her alternative theory was that maybe they simply did not consider her a threat to be worth keeping an eye on. She wanted to do something but she was outnumbered. If she had so much trouble with just Shego she could only imagine what this Elsa and Kefka had in store. But no matter how daunting and unlikely the task seemed, Mulan felt it would be even worse if she didn't at least try and do something.

"I- I won't let you get away! I- um- I-" But it was no use. Even though Kefka and Shego had stopped to listen, the words wouldn't come out or she was drawing a complete blank in her mind. She was being frightened into silence. She took a gulp and swallowed down her nerves before trying again. "You've tried to hurt Sora and you've kidnapped one of the Princesses. I won't let you walk away without getting some answers."

"Oh yes, about those Princesses. I'm sure you've had a great time playing with them, now cough them up," Kefka said.

"Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about," Mulan lied. She knew exactly where the Princesses were, and she thanked Sora for trusting her with the tip in the first place. They had both worked hard to conceal their whereabouts and no one else knew but herself and Sora.

Kefka tutted and shook his head before pointing at her with an accusatory finger. "Oh don't play dumb. We know that you're hiding them somewhere around here. Come ooooon, don't be selfish. Don't they teach you Radiant Garden folks the common courtesy of sharing?"

"Sounds like something a bully would say. You shouldn't expect me to give you something just because you want it. That comes with hard work and earning my respect. You've done neither. You want the world but it just doesn't work like that. As far as I'm concerned, the world doesn't want you," Mulan said.

"Ooh, the girl's got you there. Not that I really care whether we find the Princesses or not. I just get a nice little vacation out of this. The one good thing I get for working with Dr. D," Shego said.

"I have a question. You seem pretty sure that I know about these Princesses of Hearts and where they're being kept. You also seemed to know where Kefka was being held and you even had a password I'm guessing for the computer room that you shouldn't have known about. The only way I can imagine you knew any of those things is if you had someone working with you from inside the garden. Am I correct?" Mulan asked. If that was the case and at the moment it seemed highly likely, then Sora's reasons to be sceptical of the safety of the Princesses had been a reasonable one, not that she had ever doubted him.

"Do we get the Princesses if I tell you what you want to hear?" Kefka asked.

"Nice try but the only thing you're getting is more jail time. At least you'll have additional company this time," Mulan answered. Her eyes shifted eastward to the landscape view of the town. It was daybreak and the rising sun had cast a beautiful orange glow in the horizon.

"Hmm, let me see… HOW ABOUT NO!" Kefka screamed impetuously. He then fell back and adopted the smile of someone who knew more than anyone else. "Hey, just between you and me, I'll fill you in on a little secret, just for being so inept at your job. You don't think I would be so stupid as to be caught by Sora, do you? I suppose when I didn't resist when he found me he must have thought it was incredibly easy too but he didn't say anything."

"What are you talking about?" Mulan asked. That was when she heard it. A raucous explosion—not one that she could see but still one she felt was very close by—thundered from down below and violently shook the ground underneath her feet like an earthquake causing her to stumble over. Though it had been powerful, it did not last long and Mulan was able to regain her balance before looking to see Kefka, Elsa and Shego had disappeared from her sight.

What in the world? No, no time to think. That came from somewhere inside. I should investigate and warn anyone inside, Mulan decided. She took off quickly, heading down the stairs and toward the entrance leading to Ansem's castle. It was times like these that she wished she had Mushu by her side. Even if he had been asleep, facing what was to come was much scarier alone than with a friend.