Chapter 2-Traverse Town, 1st Visit, part 2

Abby's brain was turning in circles. Just the day before, she was thinking about seeing different worlds with her best friends, Mick and Galleria. Never in her wildest dreams could she have predicted that she would end up on another world, surrounded by shadow creatures and strange women, and possessing a weapon known as the Keyblade.

At the moment, she was sitting on a bed in a hotel. Not only that, she was being stared at by a smaller girl with pink pigtails and big red eyes. The other woman with the blonde pigtails (who, at some point, had somehow changed out of her elaborate sailor costume and into civilian clothes) was also in the room; Abby couldn't help but notice that the two girls shared a slight resemblance.

Finally, after a prolonged silence, the girl with pink hair spoke up.

"She doesn't look like much, Usagi," the younger girl said to the woman, who had been staring out the window.

The older woman (Usagi) turned toward the girl. "Chibiusa…" she said quietly, "you know it's not safe to use our real names right now…"

"Oh, right," said the younger girl (Chibiusa). She turned back to Abby. "I know all this is sudden, but we had to get you and the Keyblade out of there so those creatures wouldn't come after us. It's how they've been tracking you."

"This is so we can conceal your heart," said Usagi, walking up next to Abby and Chibiusa. "But that won't stop them for long." Her gaze turned to the Keyblade. "I have to admit, even I'm surprised that you out of all people are the chosen one." She took the Keyblade from Abby's hand, to look at it closer. Suddenly, in a flash of light, the Keyblade disappeared out of Usagi's hand and reappeared in Abby's.

At this point, Abby finally managed to find her voice.

"Uh…could somebody please just tell me what's going on here?"

---

Meanwhile, in another room, Ed and Double D were talking to the man wearing a tuxedo and cape. He had introduced himself as Tuxedo Kamen.

"So, I take it that you two know about the other worlds out there," said Tuxedo Kamen. "Besides your castle and this town, that is."

"We do indeed," said Double D.

"But, uh…isn't that supposed to be a secret?" asked Ed.

"Yes," answered Tuxedo Kamen. "It's a secret because they have never been connected. Until now." He paused, and turned his gaze toward the floor. "When the Heartless came, it changed everything."

---

"The Heartless?" Abby repeated. "Is that what those shadow things are called?"

"That's right," said Chibiusa. "The Heartless are…well, those without a heart."

"They are attracted to the darkness that lies within people's hearts," Usagi continued. "And unfortunately…there is darkness in every heart."

Chibiusa spoke up again. "Have you ever heard of someone named Galaxia?" she asked Abby.

---

"Galaxia?" Double D asked Tuxedo Kamen. "I can't say I've ever heard of anyone with that name."

"And even if someone told me, I'd probably forget it anyway," said Ed.

"Galaxia was a well-known scientist," Tuxedo Kamen explained. "She was studying the Heartless. She recorded all her findings in a very detailed report."

"A report?" asked Double D.

"Can we see it?" asked Ed.

Tuxedo Kamen's face turned serious. "Unfortunately, the pages of the report are scattered everywhere."

"Everywhere?" asked Double D. "As in, across all the different worlds?"

"Exactly," answered Tuxedo Kamen.

"Maybe the king went to find the pages for the report," Ed suggested.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," said Tuxedo Kamen.

"So all we need to do is locate our missing king!" Ed said proudly. "Double D, should we find the king quickly?"

"Yes, that's the idea, Ed," said Double D. "But there's still the matter of finding the 'key' the king described in his letter."

"That's right," said Tuxedo Kamen. "The Keyblade."

---

"So…this is the key?" Abby asked Usagi and Chibiusa.

"Exactly!" said Chibiusa.

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," Usagi explained. "That's why they won't stop coming for you, no matter what?"

"But…why did it even choose me?" Abby asked, still a little confused. "I certainly didn't ask for this!"

"It can't be helped," said Usagi. "The Keyblade chooses its master, or in this case, mistress; it chose you."

"In other words, tough luck," said Chibiusa.

"Chibiusa!" said Usagi, obviously displeased.

"But…how did this all happen?" asked Abby. "I remember being in my room, and…" Suddenly, Abby snapped to attention. "Wait…my room! What happened to my home…or Vega Island?! And my friends, Mick and Galleria!"

Usagi's face softened. "The truth is…none of us really know." She straightened up again. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Abby, but sooner or later, the Heartless will come after you. You need to be prepared to fight for your life. Are you ready?"

Abby gazed at the Keyblade in her hand; she tightened her grip on it. "I guess for now, I have no choice…" she said, standing up.

Usagi turned to Chibiusa. "Chibiusa, go get Mamoru," she said. "He should be here with the other guests by now."

Chibiusa nodded, but then unexpectedly started. "Usagi!" she exclaimed, pointing to a corner of the room.

Usagi and Abby looked. In the corner of the room, a Heartless was emerging from the wall.

"Go, Chibiusa!" said Usagi. As Chibiusa ran out of the room, Usagi thrust her right arm in the air. "Silver Moon Crystal Power…MAKE UP!"

A flash of light filled the room, and when it cleared, Usagi was wearing her sailor costume. Abby had been told earlier that in this form, Usagi was known as Sailor Moon.

"Just stick with me," Sailor Moon told Abby. "I'll back you up!"

Abby nodded in understanding.

---

Meanwhile, Ed and Double D were still talking to Tuxedo Kamen, when they were heard banging from the other rooms.

"What in the world…?" Double D asked, walking over to the door and reaching to open it.

But before he could, the door burst open, smashing Double D into the wall in the process. The person who opened the door was Chibiusa, who was now sporting a sailor uniform similar to Sailor Moon, except it was pink.

"Sailor Chibi-Moon?!" asked Tuxedo Kamen.

"Mamo-chan!" said Sailor Chibi-Moon. "We have a situation!"

"I'm coming!" said Tuxedo Kamen, running out of the room with Sailor Chibi-Moon.

Sailor Moon, Abby, Sailor Chibi-Moon, and Tuxedo Kamen all met up in the hallway, running down to the first floor of the hotel and outside.

Meanwhile, Ed and Double D were still in the same hotel room. Ed watched as the door that was flattening Double D finally creaked away from the wall, revealing a noticeably flatter Double D against the wall.

"Are you all right, Double D?" asked Ed, as Double D peeled himself off the wall.

"Well, this adventure is going off to a great start," said Double D. "What happened, Ed?"

"Uh…I think there are more guests outside," said Ed.

"Oh dear…" said Double D. "We'd better check it out. Come on, Ed!" He ran out the room.

"In your hat, Double D!" Ed answered, following Double D outside.

---

Meanwhile, Abby was outside, fighting off any Heartless that crossed her path. Sailor Moon had advised her not to bother with the smaller Heartless; there was a ringleader somewhere in the town, and they had to get it.

Abby soon found herself in the third district of the town. At the same time, Ed and Double D were on the bridge above the district, surrounded by Heartless.

"Keep fighting, Ed!" Double D exclaimed, throwing every spell he could at the Heartless.

"Roger walnut!" Ed replied, throwing his shield at the creatures. Then, suddenly, as he was catching his weapon, he leaned back a little too far over the edge of the bridge. "Uh oh!" Ed exclaimed as he began to fall off.

Double D turned around, just in time to see Ed disappearing over the side. "Ed!" he exclaimed, just barely grabbing the edge of Ed's jacket. "You get back up here and help me fight!"

Unfortunately, Ed's weight was too much for Double D, and the next thing the two boys knew, they were falling straight off the bridge…and landed right on someone who happened to be standing right under them.

Abby was not expecting a sudden impact on her back. One minute she was standing in the third district with the Keyblade; the next, she was facedown on the ground, her hand holding the Keyblade was sticking out in front of here, and there was a heavy weight on top of her.

"The key!" Abby suddenly heard two voices right above her say. She rolled over, and found two young boys next to her. One was holding a shield, and the other was holding what appeared to be a wizard's staff.

Abby was about to ask what the boys meant by "the key," when they heard a massive rumbling behind them. She turned around, and was shocked. Towering over the three was a giant, monstrous creature, which appeared to be made of metal. There was a large red and black heart on its chest.

"Look out!" said the boy with the shield, throwing his weapon at the metal monster. It stumbled back.

"Cure!" the other boy called out, holding up his staff.

Suddenly, all of Abby's fatigue just vanished. She even looked better.

"Thanks," Abby said to the wizard boy.

However, the thanks were cut short as the monster regained its balance.

Without even thinking, Abby, the knight, and the wizard began fighting the Heartless ringleader together. Abby continually slashed at the monster with the Keyblade, while simultaneously scanning it, attempting to find a weak spot. The knight would either throw his shield at the monster or ram into the monster himself, shield and all. The wizard was curing Abby, the knight, and himself at whatever chance he got, and also shooting fire, ice, and lightning spells at the monster.

Abby landed back on the ground after a good series of slashes, just as she locked onto the monster's weak spot. Mustering all the psychic energy in her body, Abby thrust her Keyblade-free hand out and shot out the energy, effectively stopping the monster from moving.

The wizard and the knight were visibly surprised, until they looked at Abby.

"The weak point is the middle of the chest!" Abby called out to the other two as she strained against the power of the monster. "We all have to hit it at the same time!"

The two boys nodded, signaling that they understood. They landed next to Abby, aiming all their power at the monster's chest.

Then, Abby whipped her hand back, breaking her grip on the monster. Then, with perfect synchronization, the three unleashed the full brunt of their abilities straight into the monster's chest.

When the three hit the ground again, the monster was actually fading into blackness. A giant, translucent heart floated out of the monster's structure, and then disappeared.

With the atmosphere cooled down again, Abby turned back to the wizard and the knight.

"So…how do you guys know about the Keyblade?" she asked the two boys.

"They've also been searching for the chosen warrior of the Keyblade," said Sailor Moon. She, Tuxedo Kamen, and Sailor Chibi-Moon were walking up to the other three.

"Ooh! Ooh! I know!" said the knight. "Why don't you come with us?" he asked Abby. "We can travel to other worlds in our super-cool spaceship!"

"Really?" Abby looked uncertain. "Then…do you think we could find my friends, Mick and Galleria?"

"Of course we can!" said the wizard.

"Really?" asked the knight.

"I don't know," the wizard replied in a hushed voice (although it wasn't hushed enough, because Abby could hear it loud and clear). "But we need her to come with us so we can find the king!"

"Abby, go with them," said Sailor Moon. "Especially if you want to find your friends.

"Uh…okay…" said Abby, who still looked uncertain.

"Well, you certainly can't go with us looking like that!" said the wizard. "There will be no such frowning or sad faces on our ship."

"You need to look funny, like us!" said the knight, showing off a big grin. "Happy faces power our ship."

"Happy?" Abby asked. She sighed. Then, she bent her head down. When she brought it back up, her face was plastered with the biggest smile she could muster. "Eeeeee…"

POP!

Abby jumped, then looked behind her. She had been putting so much strain on her smile, she unconsciously caused the light bulb in the streetlight behind her to explode.

"Uh…oops." Abby then gave a more sheepish smile.

"By any chance, can your psychic powers be affected by your emotions?" asked the wizard.

Abby shrugged in defeat. "Unfortunately…yes," she replied. Then, she looked up again. "All right…why not? I'll go with you guys!"

"Splendid!" said the wizard. "My name is Edd, with two d's. Just call me Double D."

"Hello, my name is Ed!" said the knight.

Abby smiled; this time, it was genuine. "My name is Abby."

"Aw, this is so cool!" said Ed. "We're friends for life and friends for real now!"

This caught Abby's attention. "Oh! That reminds me…" She pulled two objects out of the pack around her waist, and held them out to Double D and Ed. "Here…they're friendship bracelets," she said. "They're to show that we'll always be friends." To her relief, Ed took the one with alternating red and green beads, while Double D took the one with alternating blue and orange beads. "You…don't have to wear them if you don't want to…"

"Well, Abby…this is very nice," said Double D, putting his one. "Thank you."

"Cool!" said Ed, putting his on.

Abby was finally beginning to feel better. Somehow, she knew things were going to be all right.

---

However, what Abby, Double D, or Ed didn't know was that they were being spied on. Somewhere, in a deep, dark place, a group of individuals was sitting around a table, watching the three.

"So, that young lady actually took down the Heartless," one of the people said in a smooth, low voice. "Interesting…"

"No, it's the power of the Keyblade." This comment came from a shorter person; sitting in the chair behind him was a female with glazed-over eyes, holding a book with a weird pattern on it. "That power is not her own."

"Then why don't we just turn her into a Heartless?" another individual suggested. He looked human, but he also had noticeably…catlike features. "That would settle things quick enough."

"Even better, she's traveling with that king's lackeys!" Another person at the table had distinctly large, pointed ears. Standing-no, floating-behind him were three similar-looking persons. Someone in that group was the one talking. "I don't see what the big deal is, though. They don't look that high and mighty…"

"You're no prize, either!" the last individual drawled at this. He was the least human looking of all; he looked more like a big, moving potato sack than anything else.

"What was that?!"

"Enough."

All the people at the table looked behind them. It was the ringleader that spoke up. He looked like a giant, flaming, living black shadow with a green face, and a red beard and eyebrows. He was known as Aku, the shape-shifting master of darkness.

"The Keyblade has chosen that girl," said Aku. "We cannot change that. But will she conquer the darkness, or will it just swallow her? Either way…" He sported a malicious grin. "She could be useful for us…"