With Esdeath leading the training of the army, it was clearly shaping up to be a formidable one.
Sora and Riku were also busy fighting a war on their own against the heartless. With the era being a pre-modern one and all. Tons of negative emotions are in the air.
Rapunzel accompanied them as their transporter. Using her hair to buckle the teens and the two royal guards where the heartless were.
And currently, Mulan was getting beat up by Aqua. Making sure that the basics of a warrior was drilled into her head. Literally and figuratively.
"Fuhrer, they're improving quite a lot aren't they? But their strength as a soldier will still be lacking against the heartless. Should I fire an ordnance shell?" Bismarck suggested due to the less than expected improvements.
The soldiers were being trained without external help after all. Like super packed rations and regeneration to keep them going like machines. Unlike the training of the SOLDIERs.
"Do you wanna blow this place up? I know you're quite excited to have a new ship, but that'd be overkill you know?" Ramiel smiled wryly at her.
Her turrets can make planets explode after all, not to mention the main cannon in the middle that can make full use of one of the most energetic reactions in the universe.
Gather trillions upon trillions of hydrogen and make two supercritical stars to go supernova. Accompanied with pinpoint gamma ray bursts.
"Ramiel, I don't really know how I'll teach her. She doesn't have magic and a keyblade. You do know that I'm a master keyblade wielder right?" Aqua commented from the side while pointing at Mulan.
Mulan just stared at him and Ramiel thought about it. Aqua was correct after all. He stood up and walked up to Mulan with his hands behind him.
His outfit changed and his hair was put into a neat ponytail, looking like a young master in xianxia novels.
"Mulan, to tell you the truth. I am the jade emperor." Ramiel went beside her, looking at the horizon like there was something there. Acting as if he was an enlightened one.
"What the heck is he doing?" Rapunzel whispered to Aqua who just came back from a round of eliminating heartless all around China.
"The jade emperor!? How can you prove it?" Mulan is an intelligent young woman. Doubting his words unless there was sufficient information to confirm his claim.
He chuckled lightly and thought how he would fool her. Ramiel got an idea and started doing tai-chi stances.
Mulan just watched him with skepticism, but suddenly. A mountain split wide open, the clouds parted with a wave of his hands, and forests grew as he raised his arm.
The young woman trembled and immediately prostrated herself, thinking she made a great offense towards the jade emperor.
"F-forgive this lowly one! I did not see the height of mount Tai! Please spare me oh ruler of heaven!" Mulan cried out.
"He's bamboozling someone again." Aqua squinted her eyes and can only shake her head. Mulan was too deep in it already.
"Umu, do not worry, Mulan. You are but a mortal, it is not expected of you to know the ruler of heaven." He nodded at her.
"Thank you very much for your generosity!" Mulan bowed again and sighed in relief, thinking that the stories was true. The jade emperor is a kind ruler.
"Now, you are actually destined to save China. I cannot meddle much on the realm of earth. The emperor has already received the favor of heaven for receiving my help." He nodded sagely and Mulan started crying.
"Why me? It does not make sense." She thought it was an immeasurable honor, but it is heavy. Shouldering the safety of the mortal realm.
"You were picked by the heavens for your honorable actions. Abandoning your role and fearing dishonor against your family. In order to save your father who is old and now weak. Such a filial child." Ramiel smiled at her and looked pleased.
He then took out a red pole arm with gold engravings and ornaments. With a dragon's head at the tip.
"I'll lend you this for now, do you know what this is?" He handed it to her and Mulan went wide eyed. "The monkey king bar!? The great sage equal to heaven's weapon!? Ruyi Jingu Bang!"
Mulan received it with trembling hands and thought it was extremely heavy, but it was as light as a feather in her hands.
Ramiel then linked it to her temporarily. "Yes, this will be a great help in your journey to save China, return to monke." Ramiel almost cracked and laughed his ass.
"M-monke?" Mulan tilted her head and he coughed. "Ahem, I mean borrow the victorious Buddha's beloved weapon." He then clapped and the place turned into a divine looking lotus garden.
They floated on the water, surrounded by lotus flowers and Mulan stared at everything in awe.
"And for you to unlock the full powers of the Jingu Bang, you must cultivate and become a sage." Ramiel took out a scroll of a cultivation technique that he made on the spot.
"The Fenghuang heavenly body art... Your highness, can I really do this? Absorb the energies of heaven and earth? And change my physique in order to be like the Fenghuang?" Mulan was having self doubts.
Of course she couldn't, without help that is. But it would definitely kill her if he strengthened her on the spot. So he'll only improve her a bit.
"An astute observation Mulan, you would need to cultivate in seclusion for thousands of years in order to even have a glimpse of the Fenghuang's divinity. Think of this as just a quick introduction to being a peerless sage in the mortal realm." Ramiel sat on a lotus position and Mulan quickly followed.
"He's going all out in tricking her, what a ridiculous guy." Aqua rolled her eyes, but she was interested on what he was doing.
"Come, in order for you to start. We need to unlock your meridians and strengthen your body. It will help you absorb the rich energy here in my small realm." Ramiel beckoned her over and imitated a certain tortoise grandpa.
He poked on her abdomen and golden light rippled as visual effects, giving her a small amount of energy that made Mulan believe it even more.
"Take this pill and begin cultivating after you memorize you memorized the techniques. It will grant your body great strength to aid you in battle." Ramiel gave her some tic tac, the extra minty ones for the experience.
After a few minutes, with her small help from earlier. Mulan was able to memorize the passages in the scroll easier and she popped a tic tac in her mouth.
"I can smell it, such strong medical effects!" Mulan shouted out as she felt the mint pierce her sinuses. It also has a peach flavor.
"It is made from the flesh of my peach of immortality. Do not worry, it is diluted and only a thousand year old one." Ramiel smiled at her and Mulan trembled.
"Such a great treasure... This lowly one do not deserve a peach of immortality." Mulan of course had to use the dao of bootlicking.
"Cultivate now, you will feel the effects on your body immediately." Ramiel ordered and she started meditating.
Ramiel then made some black goo exit out of her pores like in those xianxia stories. He even made her think that days have passed already.
She opened her eyes and saw that she was covered in a black substance. "Ahh, you have finished your first cultivation. It took you a week." Ramiel informed her and she went wide eyed.
"Your highness, what is this?" Mulan looked at the black substance. "It's my black goo, ahem. I mean impurities in your body. Wash yourself and you can begin training to use the Jingu Bang."
Mulan quickly washed herself with the water on the lotus garden and she felt refreshed. Feeling a qualitative change on her body.
She was comparable to a SOLDIER 3rd class recruit right now. The peak of normal humans.
"My... My face, it looks and feels as smooth as jade." Mulan gasped when she saw her image on the water, delighted at her changes.
She bowed deeply at Ramiel and took the staff with her, starting to practice using it as Ramiel put some stances on it that gave her a rough idea on what to do.
"So... What was that all about?" Aqua and Rapunzel walked up to him, eyeing his outfit. He did look good as a young master.
"Did you like it? Just like a main character in a story that received teachings and treasures from a mysterious expert." Ramiel nodded in satisfaction at his little play.
"She looked really convinced, what did you give her?" Rapunzel was curious about the peach of immortality.
"It's just some peach flavored candy, try one for yourself." Ramiel gave her a tic tac and she tried it.
"You gave her some candy and tricked her into thinking it's heaven's treasure or something? Are you trying to rob her of everything she has?" Aqua was exasperated.
"Well, I strengthened her a bit. It's not like it's a scam or something. Besides, the Jingu Bang is real, it can really extend. Not infinitely though." Ramiel shrugged and Aqua sighed at his antics.
"Why do you have to be like this." She snorted and chuckled. "You're nagging him already, you aren't even his girlfriend." Rapunzel teased her and Aqua coughed violently.
"Well, I'll leave you guys to your own devices for now." Ramiel waved at them and decided to stretch his wings for a bit.
"O-ohh, just let us know when you'll be back." Aqua waved goodbye and he flew to the skies.
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Ramiel roamed around China and saw that the heartless were proliferating like cockroaches. "Didn't Rapunzel and the gayblade duo take care of them? Is the organization doing this?"
He thought it was kind of suspicious that organization XIII hasn't made a move or at least appeared somewhere.
Larxene and Vanitas would have already informed Xehanort that they made contact with them.
"Ahhh, it's because they don't know where the princesses of heart are." Ramiel remembered that the organization was looking for them in case the 7 light would pussy out or something.
And it seems they are getting more aggressive in their methods. There is also the matter with Xigbar. Ramiel robbed him blind of the black box he was ordered to keep.
"Hmmm, I think I'll check it out what's inside of this thing." Ramiel took out the black box and it was covered with the dirt of the keyblade graveyard.
He saw a red plaque above it written as super. "This must be the name of the master of masters. Signifying Superbia, the sin of pride."
The names of the 5 foretellers he trained were all shortened names of the deadly sins.
Ramiel cracked open the box and saw a book, as well as a convoluted device inside. "A data bank?" Ramiel used the deep dive on the thing and was quite surprised on what he saw.
"So that's what the master of master's meaning of no sacrifices will be made. Even though daybreak town was destroyed and countless keyblade wielders died." Ramiel thought it was a pretty good plan.
The databank has a digital copy of the data of everyone in daybreak town. Just like data Roxas and Twilight town.
When the keyblade war in kh3 is over, Xigbar and the other foretellers will most likely use it to combine the worlds just like in ancient times.
And get rid of the darkness in the world. Which is a fruitless endeavor. "Is it still really them? If they are just pure data and memories? Are their hearts still theirs? Or is it just like Xion who is a memory that turned into a person?"
Ramiel shook his head wistfully at the master of master's foolishness. In his quest to get rid of the darkness. His vision narrowed and forgot that the light will never exist without darkness.
"Maybe I'll give these kids a chance then. Bismarck is similar to them. It's good practice for my other ships too." Ramiel planned on dabbling with creating their souls to be truly alive.
"Ahhh, nothing beats creating child soldiers that will work for free." Ramiel chuckled, he'll just use the key blade wielders as the police in the kingdom hearts world.
It will be inevitable that some of them will be corrupt and twisted. Just like how human history has proven, time and time again for thousands of years.
"Now, I did tell the others I'll spread my wings a bit. So how about I give them a visit?" Ramiel smirked and released his wings, teleporting in a corridor of darkness at the base of organization XIII.
Ramiel appeared in a white corridor where tall thrones were there. And he was suddenly attacked by magic immediately.
"So you showed up here, huh? They call you a personification of kingdom hearts. But you are just a usurper, my eyes can see clearly. Let me help you see." Terranort was already collected back from the past and Xehanort smiled at him.
"Is that so? Are you blind, old man?" Ramiel laughed as his wings extended. Black feathers staining the white space.
"Your old age must have got to you, it's understandable. I won't judge for your dementia. But aren't you getting something wrong here?" Energy started crackling on him and he flapped his wings, appearing above the sky instantly.
Lightning escaped from his wings like king Ghidorah when he was supercharged and the present members got blown away.
Their ears started ringing after their ears were assaulted by an obscenely loud thunderclap that cracked. Splitting the air that made the surroundings tremble.
Red indents appeared on Ramiel's body as he started to release his newfound powers. Steam escaped from his mouth as the awesome might of the energy leaked out of the engravings on him.
They started to glow a brilliant violet and he cracked his neck. "I have to teach you a lesson old man. Because you, are comitting fatherless behavior."
Xehanort sunk numerous worlds to darkness for a senseless plan of resetting the whole world. And for what? For nothing, because the struggle between darkness and light will forever be eternal.
Terranort clicked his tongue. "What do you know!? Get him!" He ordered all his Xehanort alters and his nobody attacked first, Xemnas.
A dome of red lasers appeared all over the place and it was like a accurate storm troopers released a barrage of blaster fire on him.
Ramiel raised his hand and all the lasers stopped in their tracks. With an expressionless face on like Neo.
An intricate keyblade then passed right at him as he bent his body backwards. The blade missing him with only a few millimeters.
Balls of darkness, lasers, magic, Ansem's stand trying to hit him, and young Xehanort multiplying himself. His blades of light turned into ropes and tried holding him down like Thanos.
"I thought you're going to teach me a lesson?" Xehanort grinned at him haughtily and Ramiel shook his head disappointedly.
"I was just checking out how you guys fight, but I guess the princesses of heart can keep up with you." He was also surveying the fighters, but it was quite disappointing.
He pulled on the ropes and pulled the real young Xehanort towards him. Ramiel then used him as a morning star and swiped towards the Xehanorts with his body.
Clicking his tongue, he dematerialized his rope of light. But he flew towards a wall from the momentum and Xemnas started teleporting towards him with lightsabers from his hands.
With a nether blade, Ramiel blocked the hard to predict attacks like he was mashing the triangle button for command prompts.
A barrage of arrows made of magic like Sora's Ragnarok flew towards Ramiel and he cracked his neck.
With blinding speed, he parried all of them and redirected every single one back to the casters. Forcing them to block, Xemnas made orbs of destruction and it followed Ramiel as heat seeking missiles.
Before it hit him, he suddenly disappeared from his location along with the orbs. The Xehanorts looked all over for him, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Looking for me? I'll return this back to you." Ramiel reappeared right behind Xemnas with the orbs and they exploded right on his face.
"Tch, you're slippery." Young Xehanort looked at Ansem and they nodded. Ansem floated in the air and he went in for CQC, using his stand to release a flurry of blows.
A pulse of darkness escaped from him and young Xehanort created a myriad of clones. All dual wielding blades of light as he released an onslaught that traumatized many a player from birth by sleep.
Taking out his keyblade, Ramiel blocked Ansem's pulse of darkness and released his own, sending him flying.
He then appeared to be dancing as he used his free hand to parry young Xehanort's blows along with his kingdom hearts key.
Versed in extreme anti-personnel martial arts, Ramiel's eyes darted around the battlefield. Reading every move that the clones make with absolute precision.
He counterattacked and started stabbing them with their own blades. "Numbers doesn't mean an automatic win, kid." The clones disappeared one by one and they were quickly dealt with.
Ramiel tapped his foot on the ground and diamond dust flew in the air. The whole place was frozen instantly and he sighed, releasing cold air from his mouth. The indents on his body turning blue.
The Xehanorts were encased in ice and the place turned into a tundra. Looking like the permafrost.
"Fuuu, weak. How about I start attacking now?" He started walking and the enemies' eyes moved. Staring at him while they tried escaping their prison of ice.
"Stopja!" Terranort casted a time stop, Ramiel snapped his fingers and the sound of glass breaking resounded.
"Impossible." Terranort glared at him and the space around them started to crack at the seams from the brute force breaking of time.
Ramiel appeared right in front of Terranort and grasped his face. He then slammed him on the ground, shattering the unstable space around them entirely.
"So much for being called master Xehanort, you can't even fight other people with your own body. Weakened by age and entropy, what a sad existence you are." He lifted him on the air and his hand started blazing for a firaja spell.
Young Xehanort gritted his teeth and rewinded time, Ramiel craned his neck towards him as his magic dissipated. "Hoh? That's an interesting trick you have."
Ramiel slowed down time to a crawl and the world turned black and white because light couldn't move fast enough to register color. "Stand still."
Skipping on place he unleashed a combo of kicks on young Xehanort that shattered his bones at every hit. He then snapped his fingers and the young man vomited blood as he flew away like a pebble.
Skipping on the ground, limp as a noodle. He blocked Terranort's keyblade with his hand as the stealer of bodies seemed to teleport towards him with a slash. His hand and his blade sparking violently.
Terranort's hand became numb from the extreme hardness of his skin and he frowned heavily. Quickly redirecting the force of his slash, Ramiel released all of it back to his chest with a blinding quick punch.
With a resounding boom, his chest almost caved in. Ramiel held back properly, his fist smoking from the friction and immense heat it released.
A shadow was creeping below him and talons of darkness snapped at Ramiel like a bear trap, with Ansem appearing, thinking that he caught him.
Ramiel swapped places with him and Ansem went wide eyed. Ramiel seeing the surprise attack from miles away. He then slugged him on the face, rocking his brain as his jaw unhinged on its socket. Losing consciousness from the violent blow.
"You're the only one left, now tell me. What fuels you, nobody?" Ramiel looked towards Xemnas.
"Anger... And hatred are supreme!" Xemnas charged at him with his lightsabers and they exchanged blows. But Xemans is too weak and his lightsabers shattered at every stroke of Ramiel's keyblade.
"Supreme you say?" Ramiel appeared above him and axe kicked him to the ground. He then stomped on his chest.
"The correct one is love, something you'd never understand. For it can inevitably lead to pride, lust, gluttony, sloth, envy, and hatred. You do not comprehend, that is why your hearts are weak. And you will fail." Ramiel snorted.
He then stared at Terranort, thinking of extracting Xehanort from his body. But he decided against it. Aqua would definitely want to do it herself. A revenge match for herself and friends.
"This is for sending Aqua to the realm of darkness. We will meet again at the keyblade war, so called forces of darkness." Ramiel created a rift, walking through it to return to the land of dragons.
Terranort coughed and hacked violently, blood escaping from his mouth. "Just... Who is that person?" He started healing his chest and ordered the whole organization to find something.
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At the land of dragons, everyone were currently doing their own thing and Ramiel saw Mulan meditating like her life depended on it.
"Boo." He whispered at her side and prepped his finger on the side of her head, making her poke herself by craning her neck.
"Your highness! You came back, master Aqua told me you were returning to heaven." Mulan informed him and he raised a brow.
"Now that we're talking about Aqua, what's she doing right now?" He looked around and didn't see her in the area.
"She had a distant look on her face and whispered that there was only one more. She then excused herself, telling me to work on my cultivation." Mulan explained and he nodded.
"How do you feel by the way?" Ramiel checked her out and she looked a bit more fit now. "I feel amazing, I have only started to work on my meridians. And it is already giving me so much strength." She flexed and he chuckled.
"Continue on doing so then, you understand right? You cannot fight a war by yourself, at least not yet." He patted her on the back and he went looking for Aqua.
He saw a house made of ice and he nodded at its make. "Did Esdeath made this? It looks like she's secretly practicing her control huh?"
It was comparable to Elsa's ice powers now and she was improving leaps and bounds.
He entered the place and went to Aqua's signature. "Why is she twitching so much?" Ramiel squinted his eyes and rushed to her room.
"Ugh... Terra, Ven..." Aqua was sweating in her sleep, having a nightmare. Her powers of darkness and light were getting chaotic, so he immediately smacked her face lightly.
"Aqua, wake up. You're having a nightmare." Ramiel tapped her face a few times until she suddenly gasped and sat up in a hurry. Hitting his chest with her face.
"Ow! Damn it." Aqua winced in pain, his chest was like a wall of steel and Ramiel put a hand on her nose. Healing up her little accident.
"Are you okay? You were having a pretty intense reaction to your dream earlier." Ramiel patted her head and she went pale upon remembering it.
"I dreamt of the time when I arrived at the realm of darkness. Terra is controlled by Xehanort. And I had to send Ventus away before we sank to the realm of darkness." She smiled wryly while explaining.
"You good?" He looked at her with worry, her heart was still a bit chaotic. Darkness leaking out a bit as her bright blue eyes were stained yellow.
"I'm fine, sorry for worrying you Ramiel... I just... Still remember my time in the realm of darkness. I fought heartless that are much stronger with my bare hands and magic. All alone, without even knowing the status of Ventus and Terra." Aqua rubbed her shoulder sheepishly.
It was such a demoralizing and bad time for her that she still have nightmares of it every time she sleeps.
"Come here, you don't have eyebags because you're superhuman. But you feel tired right?" He made her lie down.
"What are you going to do?" She looked at him with shame as she was hiding it all and didn't tell anybody about it. Because she didn't want anyone to have a bad time.
"I'm just gonna use a bit of magic." Ramiel warmed up his hands and started stroking her back. "Uhhh, what are... You... That feels nice." Aqua sighed in satisfaction and relaxed on the bed.
He worked on her tense muscles for a bit and Aqua started humming. Forgetting about her nightmare.
After a few minutes, her breathing got softer and slept peacefully. "I guess I can keep her some company." Ramiel shrugged and thought she was a bit pitiful.
He fixed her sleeping posture and lied down beside her. Putting his arm behind his head. He took out his phone and tried sending out a message. But the world was still blocked by Bianca and Schwarz.
"Hah, I guess we should finish this quite soon." They were only gone for a few days, so they must be freaking out right now and trying to find him everywhere.
Aqua then snuggled up to him, scooting over to him as if grasping something. She then put her head on his chest and sighed in satisfaction.
He smiled and patted her head. "Hah, don't be too sad when we need to return to where we came."
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Thank you for reading everyone, ciao.