(Harmony's) POV:
Once we got on the Gummi ship, we leave Hollow Bastion to set off for whatever world we could get to. However...
"So, any idea on where we're going?" Heisuke asks.
"Not really. But there are some things you guys should know before we set out," I say.
"Like what?" Okita asks.
"When traveling to other worlds, you can't tell anyone that other worlds exist," Luke says.
"It's part of the world order," says Donald.
"You didn't know that there were other worlds out there til you met us, right? That's just how it works. We can't tell anyone about there being other worlds out there, or anything about the Keyblade unless it's someone we can actually trust to keep all of that a secret," Asch explains.
"I can see why," says Hijikata.
"Indeed. If everyone knew about this, there's no telling what might happen," Saito says.
"Right. But since we've been to a lot of worlds before, we've got some friends who we can trust to know about this stuff, so there shouldn't be any worries. Anyway, maybe we could ask Chip and Dale to see what world we should go to," I say, pressing a call button, which makes a video screen appear. "Chip? Dale? Are you there?"
"Hiya, Harmony!" Chip exclaims as the screen reveals the two chipmunks.
"How's it going?" Dale asks.
"We need to figure out which world we can go to," says Luke. "Can you help us out?"
"Sure! Just give us a moment," says Chip.
"...Let's see. You apparently have only two new worlds to go to, the Land of Dragons and a castle," Dale informs.
"Hey! What happened to Twilight Town?" Chip asks.
"It's gone!" Dale exclaims, catching all of us by surprise.
"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Asch asks.
"We don't know. It was there for a moment, but now it's gone!" Chip exclaims.
"Well, try to look into it," I say.
"Will do!" Dale exclaims.
"Anyway, we'll give you the coordinates for those other worlds, and let you know about Twilight Town later. So, bye-bye!" Chip exclaims before the screen goes black.
The coordinates show up, followed by the names of the worlds that these coordinates belong to. After some careful thought, we decide to head to the Land of Dragons first.
(3rd) POV:
In an area that used to be a small village, buildings are on fire, while people's corpses lie on the ground. Then a hawk flies overhead, landing perfectly on a man's shoulder. This man stands at the center of this horrific sight, showing a satisfied smile, as though he finds this sight to be quite amusing, especially since he is the cause of this. Meanwhile, a soldier watches from a distance behind a bamboo grove, making sure to not be seen.
"See that, Mulan? It's Shan-Yu, leader of the Hun army! C'mon, girl. This is your big chance!" a shadowy figure says, surrounded by flames. "I can see it now: 'Fa Mulan whups public enemy number one'! You gonna be famous! I'm talkin' A-list!"
"Mushu, I'm not sure...I haven't even joined the army yet," Mulan says. "I have to take my father's place to preserve the Fa family honor. I just hope I don't get discovered."
"Whatever. You just scared--admit it," says Mushu.
"Aren't you?" Mulan asks, resulting in Mushu to place a hand over his face and slowly shake his head for Mulan's lack of self-confidence.
(Harmony's) POV:
On our way to the Land of Dragons, we ended up facing a lot of Heartless ships, which were not easy to handle. The moment we entered through this huge gate, Heartless ships were rapidly attacking us from all over the place. There was also this huge keyhole in space, which made the Gummi ship slow down as we got closer to this world. All I can say is that Yen Sid and the three fairies weren't kidding when they said that this journey would be a lot harder than our last one.
Anyway, once we make it to our destination, we make sure to land the Gummi ship somewhere where, hopefully, no one will find it. Then we start to walk around, keeping a lookout for any Heartless, Nobodies, or Organization 13.
"Are we going to have to face those things every time we pay a visit to other worlds?" Heisuke asks, referring the Heartless ships.
"Not really. We only have to go through that only once in every new world we go to. For example, since we've made through those Heartless on our way here, we don't have to do it again, and can go through a safer route, if we were to ever visit this place," I try to explain.
"That's good to hear. So, this is China, huh? Never thought I'd get to see it," says Nagakura.
"Even though we're in a different world, it kind of almost seems similar to our own world," says Harada.
"What was your world like, exactly?" I ask, curious.
"It's hard to explain. But one thing's for sure, is that it's a lot different, compared to Twilight Town and Hollow Bastion," Heisuke says.
"I think I know what you mean. Where I'm from, every world I went to felt a lot different from what I'm used to back home," I say as we keep walking, remembering how I first ended up in Traverse Town when the Heartless attacked my island.
"Hey, look," Okita says.
We take a look to see what caught his attention; a scared looking soldier facing a shadowy monster.
"A Heartless?" Donald asks in a hushed whisper
"Let's get the jump on 'im!" Luke exclaims.
"Gwarsh, maybe we better look before we leap," Goofy suggests.
"Too late," Hijikata says with a sigh.
By then, Luke, Donald, Heisuke and Nagakura rush towards the so-called Heartless, while the rest of us let out a sigh, having no choice but to catch up with them. Not only did it catch that soldier by surprise, but I saw something, or someone, jump into his arms, scared.
"Wait a minute...Mushu is that you?" I ask, recognizing that small, red dragon anywhere.
"Friend of yours?" Saito asks.
I nod my head. "Yeah. Mushu may be small, but can pack quite a punch when it comes down to it," I say, remembering how Mushu helped us against the Heartless, before our final battle with Ansem.
"That's right, I know you heard of me!" Mushu exclaims, peaking his head out past the man's shoulder. "I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now ya'll scram before I get my dragon dander up!"
"Hey, Mushu!" Luke exclaims with a smile.
"We missed you!" Mieu exclaims.
"Yeah? Well you better HOPE I miss YOU, or else you're--you're..." Mushu says, taking a moment to recognize some of us. "...Harmony! Asch! Luke! Chibi! Mieu! Donald! Goofy!"
"Do you know them?" the soldier asks, getting over his earlier fright.
I'm confused. He's dressed like a man, but sounds like a woman. I wonder...
"KNOW them!?" Mushu mockingly asks, walking towards us. "Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots. 'Cause I'm a mighty dragon!" he then leans against my leg, like a pillar, and looks up at me. "Right?"
I move my leg away, causing him to fall over. "Well, something like that," I say.
Chibi then lets out a cheerful bark and licks Mushu, happy to see him. Our dragon friend, however, feels disgusted for getting covered with saliva.
"By the way? Where's Sora and Madison? Get into an argument or something? And who the heck are these guys?" Mushu asks, gesturing to our new friends: Hijikata and the others, while also trying to get Chibi's saliva off of himself.
"This is Hijikata, Okita, Saito, Heisuke, Harada and Nagakura. A lot of stuff happened and they're traveling with us," I explain, making sure to make the story as short as possible. "As for Sora and Madison...let's just say that we kind of got separated from them."
"And...you are?" Asch asks, gesturing to the man dressed in green armor.
"I'm Mulan," the soldier says, then clears his throat. "Um, no, I-I mean..."
"Ping!" Mushu exclaims.
"Mulan Ping?" Donald asks, suspicious of the name.
"Just...Ping. I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou," Ping says.
"You know Mushu?" Luke asks.
"Mushu's one of my family's guardians," says Ping.
"We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family guardian," says Goofy.
"Yeah, that's right!" Mushu exclaims, then hops onto Ping's shoulder. "And that puts you all up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here. Well, guess what, kiddies? It's payback time!"
"Mushu..." Ping says, looking nervous from the dragon's words.
"Ah, they don't mind. Ain't that right?" Mushu asks.
After some careful thinking, I nod my head. "Well, I guess that's fair," I say.
"What were you doing out here, anyway?" Hijikata asks.
"See, Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial Army," Mushu explains. "We gotta go find the other recruits over at the training camp."
"Would you join us?" Ping asks. "It'll be easier to fit in if I'm with guys, like you."
It's then that my suspicions are confirmed. Ping may claim to be a boy, but his deep voice sounds forced. And with how he said that last part, I can tell that he...or should I say 'she', isn't exactly being honest.
"What do you mean 'fit in'?" Nagakura asks.
"Well, um, uh, don't--don't worry about that," Mushu quickly says.
"You're pretending to be a boy, aren't you?" Goofy asks.
Luke, Donald, Heisuke, Nagakura and Mieu all look at Goofy with wide eyes, processing what he just said. They then turn their attention back towards Ping.
"You're a...girl?" Luke asks, shocked.
"No way!" Nagakura exclaims.
"It can't be!" Heisuke exclaims, just as surprised.
"Seriously, guys?" I ask with a sigh.
"It's plain obvious," Asch says.
"She's obviously a girl," says Saito.
"Are the rest of you idiots?" Hijikata asks with a sigh.
"Kind of makes you nostalgic about when we met Chizuru, doesn't it?" Okita asks, making me confused and curious about who this Chizuru is.
"It sure does," Harada says with a sigh.
"You didn't notice?" Ping asks.
"Not me," Luke says as him, Heisuke, Nagakura, and Donald shake their heads.
"I didn't know, either, mieu," Mieu says.
"I think it's working," Ping says, smiling at Mushu.
"I don't know--I think Hijikata is right. Mieu is one thing, but those four would fall for anything," Mushu says, rolling his eyes.
"We're right here, you know?!" Heisuke exclaims.
"Hey!" Donald and Luke exclaims in sync.
"I'm gonna remember that!" Nagakura declares.
"So, I'm guessing your real name is Mulan, right?" I ask.
"Yes. My name is Fa Mulan...Was it really that obvious? About me being a girl?" Ping--err, Mulan asks.
"Well, I am a girl myself," I point out. "So, why are you dressed as a man?"
"I had to. The Emperor's ordered one man from every family to serve in the Imperial Army. But my father never fully recovered from the last time he fought for the emperor. I joined up so he wouldn't have to. But since they would never recruit a woman, disguising myself as a man was my only option," Mulan explains.
I tilt my head, confused on what's so wrong about a girl joining the army. Apparently, Saito notices my confusion and places a hand on my shoulder, gaining my attention.
"Our home was no different. Women were mostly expected to look after the house and children, as well as do most of the house chores, while the men were away to handle all of the fighting," Saito explains.
"Basically, women were only considered to be good enough to handle all of the house chores. Some men also liked to keep women around as trophies," Okita says, not showing his usual smile anymore, which shows that he's serious and not joking.
"But that's horrible!" I exclaim, not liking what Saito and Okita told me.
"That's just how it was. And since China is no different, you'd best prepare yourself for not being welcomed once we reach the encampment," Hijikata warns me.
With that, we head to the soldier's encampment. I hear what they're saying, but I still don't like it. After all, I'm a girl, but I'm still able to fight with my Keyblade, so...Basically, I just don't like the idea of my skills being underestimated just because I'm a girl. Thankfully, it doesn't take long to find the encampment.
(3rd) POV:
"Remember, girl--man-ly!" Mushu exclaims in a hushed whisper to Mulan, then hides in her armor.
(Harmony's) POV:
"Think that's where we're supposed to line up?" Luke asks.
"No. It looks like they're only lining up for food," Heisuke says, walking towards the line a soldiers.
"'Bout time we got some grub," a short man says, shoving Heisuke out of the way.
"Hey, no cutting!" Luke exclaims.
"Get out!" Donald exclaims.
"What's the big idea?" Heisuke questions, glaring at the man who shoved him.
All the short man does is slug Heisuke in the face. Angered by what the man just did, Donald tackles him to the ground.
"Back off!" the short man exclaims, trying to get Donald off of him.
The rest of us watch the fight unfold, not sure what to do. And as if things were bad enough, two more men show up.
"Hey, a space in line!" the man dressed in yellow armor exclaims, shoving Donald and the short man out of the way.
Then the taller man dressed in blue armor accidentally shoves all of them out of the way. "I wonder what they're serving for lunch today."
"Knuckle sandwiches!" the short man exclaims, tackling the man in yellow armor.
"That does it!" Luke exclaims.
"Now you're gonna get it!" Heisuke exclaims.
The fight then escalates between the Chinese soldiers and Luke, Donald and Heisuke. Seeing this, I can't help but wonder how they could possibly think that men are better than women, when this is nothing but a pointless fight. I even saw the rest of my friends sigh, also thinking how stupid it is to be fighting like this, while Chibi lets out a bored yawn.
"Please!" Mulan exclaims, gaining the boys' attention, as well as stopping them from fighting any further.
"Please!" the man in yellow armor mockingly exclaims.
"What a girl!" the short man exclaims.
Mulan realizes her mistake and tries to make her voice sound deep. "Uh...knock it off!"
"Knock what off?" the short man mockingly asks.
"You punched me!" Heisuke exclaims.
"Cutting in line!" Donald exclaims.
"And you didn't apologize to either of those!" Luke exclaims.
"What a shrimp!" the man in yellow armor exclaims.
"Who you callin' a shrimp, panda lips? I'm a bona fide guardian dragon!" Mushu exclaims, popping out from Mulan's armor.
Thankfully, before anyone can see Mushu, Mulan quickly ducks him back in her armor. "L-let's just get back in line, okay?" she asks.
"Whose side are you on? I just got slugged!" Heisuke exclaims.
"Want some more?" the short man asks.
Here we go again.
Even Chibi lets out a bored yawn, not finding this amusing. As for Mieu, he ducks behind me, not wanting to get involved.
"Soldiers! Get back in line!" someone yells.
We all look and see someone heading in our direction. And from the looks of it, he doesn't seem pleased
"The Captain!" the man in blue armor exclaims.
As quickly as possible, everyone straightens up and gets into an orderly line. When the Captain notices me, however...
"Excuse me, but women aren't allowed here. If you do not wish to dishonor my army or your family, then you need to go back home," the Captain says. All I do is roll my eyes at him and ignore him. "Did you not hear me? I'm ordering you to return home to your family."
"I heard you. I just chose to ignore it," I say, refusing to faze, flinch, or even waver under his hard gaze.
He can glare at me, displeased, all he wants. I'm not going anywhere.
"Miss, this is not a game. Now, I respectfully ask that you leave and return to your family," the Captain says, more sternly this time.
"First off, my name is Harmony, not miss. Second of all, I'm 16 years old, so I don't think you should be calling me miss until I'm at least 20. And finally, you can say whatever you want to, I'm staying," I say, holding my ground against him.
"Harmony, what are you doing?" Mulan asks, looking uneasy.
Even the soldiers all look at me, like I'm crazy or something, for standing up against an army Captain.
"Just because I'm a girl does not give him the right into thinking that he can push me around. It's high time someone taught these men that even women have their own honor and pride to uphold," I say.
At that moment, I start to sense a presence heading to the encampment, while Chibi starts to growl and bark, signaling us that Heartless are coming. When they do appear, the others and I ready ourselves for battle.
"What are they?" Mulan asks.
"Heartless!" Mieu exclaims, trying to be brave.
"Oh yeah?" the man in yellow armor asks, acting tough, then runs off to hide somewhere with the short man and the man in blue armor.
"Ping, I hope you're ready!" I exclaim, summoning my Keyblade, ready to fight.
With that, my friends and I face against the Heartless. We have no trouble taking them all out. But I did notice that Mulan's fighting was a little sloppy, making me realize that this must be the first time she's ever fought in a battle before. Once the Heartless are gone, the Captain walks up to me.
"Your name is Harmony, correct?" the Captain asks.
"That's right," I say.
"Seeing how you can handle yourself in a fight, I'm willing to make an exception on letting you stay. However, that does not mean I am letting you join the army," the Captain says.
"I've got nothing wrong with that," I say, glad that I was able to prove how women can fight just as well as men.
The Captain then turns his attention to my friends. "And you all? What are your names?"
"Asch."
"Luke."
"Donald."
"Goofy."
"Hijikata Toshizo."
"Okita Souji."
"Saito Hajime."
"Toudo Heisuke."
"Harada Sanosuke."
"Nagakura Shinpachi."
"And this is Mieu and Chibi. They're our...trustworthy animal companions," I say.
"You're all welcome in my troop," says the Captain. "Your battles skills are encouraging."
"I am the son of Fa Zhou--" Mulan says before getting cut off.
"You should return home," says the Captain.
"B-but...That would dishonor my family!" Mulan exclaims.
"You'd rather dishonor my troops?" the Captain questions.
"Don't make me--!" Mulan exclaims, pleading to stay.
"Then why not put his skills to the test?" Asch suggests.
"If Ping tries hard and does his best, he'll get stronger in no time," Luke says, agreeing with Asch's words.
The Captain thinks about it, but still looks unconvinced.
"Then how about giving us some assignments?" Hijikata suggests. "If Ping works well together with us, then that should prove he has the right to stay."
"Wow, Hijikata-san. Never pegged you the type to show sympathy for others," Okita says, obviously teasing Hijikata.
"Shut up," Hijikata says, giving Okita an annoyed glare.
"So...you want to be tested?" the captain asks. He puts some thought into it, then speaks. "Our orders are to ambush Shan-Yu's army on their way here. They should be coming through the mountain pass."
"We'll smash them!" Donald exclaims.
"I doubt that. You all will be the advance party. Scout out the mountain for my troops," the captain orders.
"That's it? No problem," Okita says with a teasing smile.
I can tell that despite his smile, he's actually taking this seriously.
"Ping?" Mieu asks, concerned about Mulan.
"It'll be no problem, right?" Heisuke asks.
"R-right," Mulan says, looking down, unsure of herself.
"I'll brief you on the details later. Return when you're ready to depart. Remember, the smallest mission may have the greatest purpose. Stay alert!" the Captain orders.
"Sir!" we all exclaim in sync.
Once we believed ourselves to be ready as we'll ever be, we talked to the Captain to receive our assignments.
(3rd) POV:
Shang: Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns
Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?
You're the saddest bunch I ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man out of you
Tranquil as a forest but on fire within
Once you find your center, you are sure to win
You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot
And you haven't got a clue
Somehow I'll make a man out of you
For three days now, Harmony and the others have been handling each assignment that the captain, Li Shang, gave them. While doing the assignments, Harmony and her friends have also been helping Mulan, giving her some tips and helping her improve her fighting skills.
Chien-Po: I'm never gonna catch my breath
Yao: Say goodbye to those who knew me
Ling: Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym
Mushu: This guy's got 'em scared to death
Mulan: Hope he doesn't see right through me
Chien-Po: Now I really wish that I knew how to swim
Chorus: Be a man
Shang: We must be swift as the coursing river
Chorus: Be a man
Shang: With all the force of a great typhoon
Chorus: Be a man
Shang: With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
Time is racing toward us till the Huns arrive
Heed my every order and you might survive
You're unsuited for the rage of war
So pack up, go home, you're through
How could I make a man out of you?
Even though it's not a lot, Mulan has definitely been making progress and Harmony and the others can see that. Helping her fighting skills improve has also been helping Harmony out as well. Although they've noticed the assignments they've been given involved taking out the Heartless, facing them has been helping Harmony grow stronger to the point where her Valor form feels less exhausting to use now, compared to when she used it in Hollow Bastion.
Chorus: Be a man
We must be swift as the coursing river
Be a man
With all the force of a great typhoon
Be a man
With all the strength of a raging fire
Shang: Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
Chorus: Be a man
We must be swift as the coursing river
Be a man
With all the force of a great typhoon
Be a man
With all the strength of a raging fire
Shang and Chorus: Mysterious as the dark side of the moon