The Land of Dragons
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS II (2006)
Origin: Mulan (1998)
Sora, Donald and Goofy arrive at the Land of Dragons, also known as China, not too long after they begin their second journey. No sooner do they land do they get to be reunited with Mushu, a small fire breathing dragon that helped them during their first journey. Apparently he is the Fa family's guardian, and is helping the daughter of the family, Mulan, join the imperial army disguised as a man under the name 'Ping'. As Mushu helped them before, it's now Sora's turn to repay the favor, and the trio joins the army along with Mulan to make sure she does well on her missions.
Joining the force isn't so easy seeing how as soon as they reach the camp, the group gets involved in a brawl. Needless to say, the Captain, Shang, is less than impressed but before he can give anyone a proper berating, Heartless storm the camp. Shang is impressed by the trio's fighting skills but isn't quite satisfied with Mulan. He lets her join Sora on several missions and eventually sees the potential in her. The final mission the group's given is to secure the path leading up the mountain, and the troops regroup in the village next to the summit.
Mushu has good news - believing he spotted Shan Yu, the leader of the Hun army, he tells the party and convinces them to go after the man. That way, Mulan is bound to look good, but it turns out to be nothing more than a trap as instead of Shan Yu, the party is faced with Heartless. What they find once they finally manage to return is a burned down village, and a defeated army. Shang himself is wounded, but he manages to send the group towards the mountain's summit where the enemy retreated to. There, Sora and the party engage the enemy - Shan Yu, and all the Heartless he could summon. They fight for a while before reinforcements arrive, making of several soldiers and a rocket. Mulan uses the rocket to cause an avalanche, burying Shan Yu and the Heartless underneath the snow.
Not only did Mulan rid the army of its enemy, she also saved Shang's life by pulling him away from the avalanche's path. It all amounts to nothing, however, as Mushu accidentally blows the secret about Mulan's gender. As it is forbidden for a woman to join the army, Shang must try Mulan for high treason. The punishment is death, but as he owes Mulan his life, he simply dismisses the party from service, thus repaying his debt.
No longer forced to play the role of a man, Mulan gets rid of her disguise and moves about as a woman again. She has little left to do but to return home and beg for her father's forgiveness, but before the party can even begin the trip they notice Shan Yu as he bursts out of the snow, alive and well. His goal is the imperial city and so the group tries to catch up with Shang and warn him.
Sadly, Shang doesn't believe Mulan's words. He has to face his mistake, however, when Shan Yu's falcon flies overhead and Shan Yu himself appears on the palace's roof. Only a handful of his soldiers obey Shang's orders, however, as despair and fatigue turned the rest into Heartless. These are rid of easily enough, but Shan Yu has already reached the emperor. Shang arrives in time to save the emperor, leaving Sora and the party to deal with Shan Yu and his Heartless. With Mulan and Mushu's help, the party defeats Shan Yu, and guarantees the emperor's safety.
Despite Mulan's shameful acts, the emperor acknowledges that those same acts saved China, and he gives her Shan Yu's sword as proof of everything she has done. That sword is what Sora's Keyblade reacts to, and with the path to the next world open, the trio leaves Mulan and Shang behind, confident they'll be safe for a while.
It's not quite what they find once they visit that world again, sadly. As soon as they land, they spy a man clad in the Organization's coat. He runs away as soon as he spots them, and before they can give chase Mulan arrives on the scene. There've been rumors of a man in black hiding in the mountains who's been spying on the imperial city. Mulan's been chasing the man and she teams up with the party once more in order to find out the truth behind him. What they find is a lot of Heartless, and while Donald, Goofy and Mulan are busy fighting them, Sora comes face to face with the hooded figure who surprisingly enough wields the Soul Eater, the same weapon Riku used. They exchange several blows before the Heartless are no more, and the figure takes its leave. Sora stares in the direction the man disappeared in and reaches out - Riku?
With him gone the party tries to come up with a plan, but it seems what they are to do is already decided. A massive dragon-like Heartless bursts out of the snow and heads for the imperial city. Once they arrive they find another man in black, and Sora calls out Riku's name. The man pulls off his hood but it's Xigbar, a member of Organization XIII. He makes his escape then, leaving the party free to check on Shang and the emperor. They warn them of the dragon, but it appears they were already informed; a young man clad in black warned them. Not only was he good enough to defeat Shang in battle, he was also rather rude and arrogant. It fits with Sora's hunch that the man they met on the mountain was Riku, but that leaves rather a serious issue - what is Riku doing with Organization XIII?
That's a question they'll have to try and answer another time, sadly, as the dragon Heartless arrives to attack the city. Together with Mulan, Sora defeats the monster, and the entire city celebrates. When they finally talk to the Emperor again, Sora inquires further about the man in black the emperor met before. It appears someone disturbed one of the various dragons that reside in the world, and turned it into a Heartless; the man in black initially came to warn the emperor so he could prepare his troops, but having ran into Sora up on the summit, reassured the emperor that 'three wise guys' would take care of everything instead. All the more support it was indeed Riku, and for the time being, Sora doesn't care about the implications. Whether or not Riku really iswith the Organization, at least Sora knows he's alright.
Reassured, and knowing that finally the world will be safe, Sora leaves to continue his search for Riku and his battle against the Organization.
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