Chapter 110
Family Honor
"So, where to now?" Donald asked.
Mickey crossed his arms as he thought hard. "You know, how about we check the map?" he suggested. "We can follow them to another world and find some clues."
Riku nodded. "Good idea. And maybe we can stop them from getting what they're after, and even capture one of them while we're at it," he added.
"Alright, then. Let's have a look." Mickey entered a few commands into the computer and brought up the world map display. At first, most of the dots appeared to be either in Villain's Vale or on the home worlds of some members. A few were in distant locations that would take at least a day's worth of travel to reach. However, a minute later, while they considered checking out the distant worlds, a dot vanished from the Vale and appeared over a world that most of the party recognized.
Sora's face lit up. "How far away is that world?" he asked.
Donald plotted a path and analyzed the route. "With minimal interference, about six hours," he replied.
"Have you been there before?" Aqua asked.
Goofy nodded. "Yeah. That's the Land of Dragons," he answered. "We helped the army there fight off invading Huns and Heartless."
"I wonder how Mulan and Shang are doing?" Sora mused, crossing his hands behind his head.
"I bet they'd be happy to see you," Riku assured him.
"What about when they see you?" Goofy asked. Riku raised an eyebrow curiously. "Well, I mean, you did fight Shang to get to talk to the Emperor."
Riku flinched, taken aback as he recalled his visit to the Imperial City to warn the Emperor and his guards of a dragon Heartless. He chuckled nervously. "I'm sure they won't recognize me," he said. "I had the coat on, and I had a different body underneath, anyway."
"Well, you still had the same weapon," Sora countered. "Your sword was a Keyblade when we fought on the mountain."
"I fought the Heartless. You attacked me," Riku corrected. "I barely even retaliated."
"And they'll probably remember your name. I did mention it when asking them about you."
Riku jumped. "Sora!" Sora and Kairi laughed at Riku's embarrassment.
"Well, let's get going!" Donald shouted, getting everyone back on topic.
Mickey nodded. "Right. Strap in. We're on our way." With that, he fired up the engines, and the ship shot off through the Lanes Between.
An afternoon breeze blew as they entered the village. As they passed through the streets, civilians turned to watch them curiously. Women at the market began to chat, wondering who the newcomers were, while children who had been playing offered friendly waves. A few of the men nodded respectfully.
"So, um why didn't we land near the encampment?" Goofy asked.
"This was the nearest Safe Point to where the dot appeared," Mickey answered.
"And he only arrived on this world a few hours ago, so I'm pretty sure the army wouldn't have been mobilized," Sora added. "So, right now, the best thing to do would probably be to keep an ear on the ground and see if anyone has heard or seen anything that can help us."
"That's a really good idea," Kairi commended.
As they passed through town, Donald spied a familiar figure. He patted Sora on the leg to get his attention, then pointed in her direction. Sora noticed a young woman, who did not appear to be much older than him. She had straight black hair that extended past her shoulders, as well as dark brown eyes visible through narrow eyelids (a trait shared by the other locals). She wore a green kung-fu robe with a red sash around the waist, gray pants, knee-length white socks, and black shoes, her clothes hugging her slender yet slightly-muscular figure. She led a black horse with white fur on the center of the muzzle by the reins. A pouch was attached to the horse's saddle, which most likely contained traveling essentials.
Grinning, Sora approached the woman, waving. "Hey, Mulan!" he greeted.
Fa Mulan turned to see who had called and smiled when she identified the speaker. "Sora! Donald! Goofy!" She raised her arm in greeting, and bowed when Sora and his friends approached her. "It is good to see you."
"Same here," Sora replied. "How have you been?"
"Very good. Thank you. I was just on my way to visit my family."
"I take it it's been pretty peaceful around here lately?" Sora guessed.
Mulan nodded. "Yes. Shang has been training soldiers in the event of another threat, and also to quell whatever Heartless do appear."
"Gawrsh, that's good to hear," Goofy said.
Mulan looked past Sora, Donald and Goofy, and noticed their companions. "Who are your friends?" she asked.
Mickey, Kairi, Aqua, and Riku introduced themselves in turn.
"Riku…" Mulan mused, recalling that she had heard the name somewhere before. She gasped. "The spy in black?" She had spoken louder than she had intended, causing nearby civilians to turn curiously to the conversation.
"I helped you guys out, remember?" Riku claimed defensively. "And the real perp was Xigbar, wasn't it?"
Mulan let out a nervous laugh. "Right. Sorry about that," she said.
"A-hyuck. I saw that coming," Goofy quipped. Riku smacked him on the back of the head. "Youch!"
"Then I should thank you for your assistance during that incident," Mulan added.
Riku nodded. "No problem. I did what I could."
"Oh! You should come over for dinner!" she suggested.
"Huh? Oh, thank you. But are you sure that it won't be too much trouble for your folks?" Sora asked, worried that the sudden addition of dinner guests would inconvenience her family. On the island, the parents would respond by ordering pizza when this happened, but he doubted that the same applied in the village.
Mulan chuckled, understanding his concerns. "Don't worry. Mother and Grandmother like to be ready for guests," she explained. "And I am sure that they would love to meet you."
Sora traded glances with his friends, who all seemed receptive to the idea, then turned back to Mulan and nodded. "Sure. We'd… ahem…" He gave her a bow, much to Riku and Kairi's amusement. "We'd be honored to join you for dinner."
Mulan bowed in return. "Thank you. Follow me." Guiding her horse, Khan, Mulan led the party through town and to her home. When they reached the wall surrounding the property, Mulan opened the door and led the party through. Once inside, a small dog with cream-colored fur and two large brown spots scampered up to them, yapping excitedly. Mulan laughed and leaned down to pet the dog on the head. "Hello, Little Brother. It's good to see you too." She released Khan's reins and walked up to the front door. She knocked and waited.
When the door opened, she saw her mother. Fa Li was a slightly plump woman with dark brown eyes like her daughter and graying black hair, which was tied in a bun. When she saw her daughter, she smiled. "Hello, Mulan."
"Hi, mother." Mulan and her mother hugged.
"Is that who I think it is?" An elderly woman hobbled to the front door.
Mulan bowed to the woman. "Hello, Grandmother."
A man who appeared to be a few years older than Li, with a goatee, hair tied in a topknot and which grayed at the temples, and who also held a cane. Mulan hugged her father, Fa Zhou.
"Mulan? Who are these people?" Li asked. Mulan turned to see that her mother and grandmother had noticed Sora and the others. Goofy and Kairi waved amiably.
"I invited some friends," Mulan replied.
Satisfied with the answer, her parents and grandmother invited the party inside, whereupon they all introduced themselves.
Mulan and her mother passed the dinner plates around with evenly-distributed meals. Kairi struggled to use chopsticks for the first time, but Mulan helped her figure it out. Sora, Donald and Goofy had also not mastered the use of the utensils, but they managed. The guests tasted the dinner and told the Fa family their thoughts.
"So, you met Mulan in the army?" Fa Li asked.
Sora nodded. "Me, Donald and Goofy ran into Mulan near the camp before she went in to enlist, and we decided to help her out," he explained.
Grandmother Fa chuckled. "Was that before you learned Fa Mulan was a woman?" she asked.
"After, actually," Sora replied. "Somehow, Goofy saw through the disguise immediately." He laughed as he remembered his own shock when the beans were spilled.
Mulan chuckled as well. "I couldn't have made it without you," she said.
Sora shook his head. "Don't sell yourself short. We just supported you." He pointed at her. "It was through your own strength and determination that you became a real hero." Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement.
"Your friends are correct, Mulan," Fa Zhou said. "You had the strength inside you all along."
Grandmother Fa laughed. "So, then, Fa Mulan, please tell us what you have been up to since you were last here?" she asked.
After dinner, Mulan, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, and Mickey went outback to take a walk through the garden. Aqua, Kairi and Mickey admired the cherry blossom tree. Sora, Donald and Goofy noticed what appeared to be the crumbled remains of a stone statue. They asked Mulan about it, and she explained that it was a statue of the Fa Family guardian spirit, the Great Stone Dragon, and she had no idea how it was broken.
The party followed Mulan up to a small shrine. Mulan held her hand up, bidding her friends to wait, then went inside. There were slates that had been mounted upright, their surfaces polished to a reflective shine and etched with Han characters. Mulan knelt down and kowtowed before the center slate, saying a prayer to her ancestors. When she finished, she stepped out and rejoined her friends.
"So, what brings you all here?" Mulan asked.
Sora whistled. "Well, let's see where to start," he mused.
Before they could begin, however, they heard a voice that Sora, Donald and Goofy recognized. "Hold on a minute. Hold on a minute! Is that who I think it is?" A crimson lizard with a yellow underbelly and two gold hair-like strands on the sides of its lip crawled across the grass until it reached the group, standing upright when it had arrived. Its human-like eyes opened wide and its mouth spread open into a grin as it recognized some of the visitors. "Sora! Donald! Goofy! And friends!" the creature identified. A purple cricket, whom the original trio had not yet met officially but whose name was Cri-Kee, hopped up beside the lizard.
Sora smiled. "Well, if it isn't 'family guardian' Mushu!" he said, making finger quotes over "family guardian".
The tiny dragon chuckled. "Don't worry. I really am the bona fide family guardian nowadays," he clarified. Cri-Kee rolled his eyes. "You know, after helping Mulan save all of China and all. But enough about me. What's up with you guys?"
Sora gave Mulan and Mushu the CliffsNotes version of the recent adventure, while introducing Riku, Kairi, Mickey, and Aqua to Mushu.
Mulan gasped as Sora explained what had specifically brought them to The Land of Dragons. "One of your enemies is here?"
Riku nodded. "Yes. And, unfortunately, we have no idea who it is," he replied, "or where he could even be at this moment."
"It could even be someone we haven't met yet," Donald added. "I wonder what else they have up their sleeves."
"We were hoping to listen for clues and work our way in from there," Aqua explained.
Mulan nodded. "I see. If what you're saying is true, then I think the best thing we can do is to head to the army camp. Maybe the trainees and scouts would have seen something."
Their train of thought was interrupted when they heard a distant scream. Without hesitation, the party ran down the hill and toward the town. Mushu and Cri-Kee quickly ran up Mulan's leg and slipped into her pocket as she started to run. Mulan stopped to retrieve her sword from her pouch on Khan's saddle before catching up with the others. As they ran through the street, going in the opposite direction of the fleeing civilians, they saw a trio of blue creatures in dark blue and magenta robes and wide, flat-topped hats. While their feet hovered above the ground, the Nightwalkers moved as if walking with a stiff shuffle, their arms stretched out in front of them.
"Heartless!" Goofy gasped.
"At least we got to have a peaceful dinner," Donald remarked.
"But they won't!" Mickey added.
Sora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and Aqua summoned their weapons while Mulan pulled her sword from its sheath. Mushu climbed onto Mulan's shoulder and puffed a few embers threateningly.
Aqua turned around and saw more of the Nightwalkers materialize further down the street. Kairi looked up and saw, hovering above the roof of a house, four creatures with black spherical bodies, yellow-orange beak-like helmets with eye holes, pairs of stubby legs, and spinning helicopter blades protruding from their elevated rears. The Rapid Thrusters quickly disappeared over the roof.
"They're all over the place," Aqua told her friends.
"Then let's split up and take a different corner of town," Mulan asserted.
The team divided, spreading out in different directions to take on the threat to the village.