Last time, Sora and his friends arrived on a parallel Earth in the city of Tokyo, without Donald and Goofy. As they're trying to figure out what to do next, they run into, for real, four local teenaged girls who have their own secrets. 'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 2: The Exchange of Trust

The girl then saw Sora, Riku, Kairi and Aiden. She smiled, "oh, hi there!" she then introduced herself as Usagi Tsukino.

As Sora and his friends introduced themselves to Usagi, the sensation that she had a great power in her intensified. Sora was sure that Usagi was way more than she seemed. He then noticed that Aiden was looking at Usagi oddly, a look of familiarity and awe.

Sora remembered that Aiden had the same odd look on his face when he saw Sara Lancaster for the first time, and the thought hit Sora like a tone of bricks. Riku and Kairi also saw the way Aiden looked at Usagi, and the connection also struck them like thunderbolts.

Sora, Riku and Kairi then had the same thought; Aiden recognizes Usagi from his vision, which means that Usagi Tsukino is a Princess of Heart!

The three of them were trying to figure out what to do next, what to say to this girl, this Princess of Heart that they had found so suddenly, but Aiden beat them to the punch.

"I know this is going to sound a little strange," said Aiden to Usagi, "but I've seen you before."

Usagi's smile faded and she looked at Aiden seriously, "how do you know me? From a past life? Because I have been reincarnated at least once."

"From a vision I had a while back," said Aiden, "I saw you on a stain glass window. You were wearing a silver and white gown and had a gold crescent moon on your forehead. Around you were several symbols, the likes of which I had never seen."

"Describe them to me," said Ami as she pulled out from her schoolbag a pen and some paper. Aiden then described several symbols. Sora, Riku and Kairi recognized these symbols as the astrological signs for the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.

Sora could tell that the astrological signs were connected to the girls in some way.

"And in your hands," said Aiden, "was a white crystal that shown like the Moon."

"I have that crystal!" said a surprised and eager Usagi, "I…"

"Usagi-chan," said Rei in a tone that said that her friend had gone too far, "can we talk to you for a moment?"

"Uh, sure, Rei-chan," said Usagi. She and her friends walked away a bit and had a whispered but intense conversation.

"Have you completely lost your freaking mind!" hissed Rei, "these guys are total strangers, and you were about to tell them everything! Are you really that stupid! Are you really that much of a dumpling head!"

"No, I'm not," said Usagi in a calm, gather tone that completely clashed with her personality. "And don't call me dumpling head. Only Mamo-chan can call me that."

"Are you feeling alright?" a concerned Ami asked as she felt Usagi's forehead, "you're not running a fever, and it's not flu season."

"Maybe she hit her head on something," said Mako as she checked Usagi's head for bumps or any sign of trauma.

"In that case she needs to lie down," said Mina in an eager tone, "I'll make sure she gets better."

"Like the time you took care of us when we were sick?" said an annoyed Rei, "I don't think so. We've had enough of 'Nurse Mina' for one lifetime, thank you very much."

"I'm perfectly fine," said Usagi in a reassuring tone, "seriously, everyone, I'm okay."

"Then what is going on in that dumpling head of yours?" Mako asked.

"I just have this feeling," said Usagi as she looked back at Sora and the others, "that we can trust these people. And don't call me that."

"How can you be sure these people can be trusted?" Ami asked, "We just met them. For all we know, they could be working for the enemy."

"I just know," said Usagi, "I can't really explain it, but I know that these guys are the good guys. It's like, I don't know, gut instinct, or," she placed her hand on her heart and smiled, "this kind of instinct."

"I say we trust Usagi-chan's heart," said Mina. "My heart says that these guys are okay."

"I think she knows what she's doing this time," said Mako. "I say we trust Sora and his friends."

"What do you mean 'this time?'" said a suspicious Usagi.

"She means that you can be a little off on some things," said Ami, "but I believe that you're right, Usagi-chan. My heart also says that Sora, Riku, Kairi and Aiden are on the side of love and justice."

"You're the best, Ami-chan," said Usagi. She, Mina and Mako then looked at Rei.

"It looks like I'm the only one who thinks this is a bad idea," said Rei. "Even though my heart wants to believe that Sora and his friends are on our side, my mind still has doubts."

She then sighed in reluctant acquiescence "but, if you all are willing to trust these strangers with our secrets, then so will I. But if this turns out to be another trap made by the enemy, then the first words out of my mouth will be 'I told you so.'"

"Fair enough," said Mako, while Mina and Ami nodded in agreement.

Usagi smiled again, then she and her friends walked back to Sora, Riku, Kairi and Aiden, "I think we have a lot to talk about."

"Is there someplace where we can sit down and talk?" Aiden asked, "I think we both have long stories to tell."

"You ain't kidding," said Mako.

"There's a café nearby," said Rei, "we know the waitress there."

"Sounds good to me," said Kairi.

A short time later found Sora, Riku, Kairi and Aiden sitting across a large table in an establishment called Crown Café. Usagi and her friends did know the waitress there, who assured them that they wouldn't be disturbed.

"So," said Ami, "who wishes to tell their story first?"

"We'll go first," said Riku, "we've had practice telling our story to others."

"To start, Riku, Kairi and I are from another world," said Sora, "a parallel Earth."

"And I'm from a completely different world," said Aiden, "but we'll get to me later."

"We're also from another time," said Kairi, "our world is over 10 years into the future, compared to yours."

"Really?" an astonished Mina asked, "who wins the gold in Volleyball in the next Summer Olympics?"

"If they're from a different universe," said Ami, "then they would have different athletes. Whatever happens in sporting events over the next decade in their universe most likely wouldn't be the same in ours."

"For all we know they don't have volleyball in their world," said Mako.

"That's just uncivilized," said a shocked Mina, "a universe without volleyball? Unthinkable! Unacceptable! Unforgivable!"

"She tends to make a scene every now and then," said Ami to Sora and the others.

"You have our sympathies," said Riku. He then looked at Mina, "you can relax, we have volleyball in our universe."

"We do," said Kairi, "but Ami is right, it wouldn't do any good to mention who does what over the next decade or so. Different universes, different events in time. Wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey."

"I beg your pardon?" a confused Ami asked.

"Oh, you haven't discovered that theroy yet," said Kairi, "never mind then."

"The real story is how we wound up here," said Riku. He, Sora, Kairi and Aiden then began explaining how they got involved with The Heartless, what The Heartless are and what they do, as well as a brief summary of all the worlds they've visited, both in and out of their universe. They also talked about all the Villains they've faced, humanoid and demonic, as well as why they're jumping from one world to another.

"That Maleficent is a real bitch," said an outraged Mako, "keeping you away from your home. I'd bash her head in if I could."

"I'll bet you could," said Aiden, "but jumping worlds may be a good thing in a way. For one thing, we met." He then went into a more detailed explanation of his vision.

"We've met one girl that I saw in my vision," said Aiden, "and you, Usagi Tuskino, are the second. I won't remember what the other five look like until I see them in person, but I'll definitely know them when I see them."

"Assuming we find them in the first place," said Riku.

"And you think I'm…I'm, what was it?" said Usagi, "a Princess of Heart?"

"Well you have the most important qualification," said Kairi, "it doesn't take a genius to realize that you have a very, very pure heart."

"And your heart is just as pure," said Usagi, "I can tell from where I'm sitting."

"But having a very pure heart can be dangerous," said Riku. "The darkness is always seeking to corrupt the light."

"Oh we know all about that," said Mako, "we should know, it's been part of our lives for a while now."

"Don't tell them everything," whispered an annoyed Rei.

"They might as well know," said Mako, "they'll ask sooner or later."

"You sound like you've dealt with The Heartless before," said Aiden.

"Actually," said Ami, "we haven't."

"Are you sure?" Sora asked as he pulled out his sketchbook. He opened it to a drawing of a Shadow and handed it to Usagi. "ever seen anything like this?"

"Umm…nope," said Usagi as she saw the sketch of the creature, "we haven't seen this before."

"Nor these," said Ami as she looked at other Heartless sketches, while Rei, Mako and Mina also looked at the sketches and shook their heads.

"I guess you're lucky," said Riku, "but I feel like you've faced the darkness before and won."

"We have faced the darkness," said Rei, "more than you can imagine."

"You've told your story," said Usagi, "now it's our turn," she looked at Aiden, "I don't know what this Princess of Heart business has to do with me, but I am a real Princess, or, I was in a past life."

"We were all reincarnated," said Mako, "from a thousand years ago."

"Nearly everyone in the world is completely clueless that there was a great and bright civilization that spanned most of the planets in the solar system," said Ami, "all centered on the Earth and The Moon."

"In my past life," said Usagi, "I was Serenity, Princess of the Moon. And my boyfriend, Mamoru Chiba, he was Endymion, Prince of Earth," she signed as if remembering something very pleasant, "we both have forgotten a lot about our past, but both Mamo-chan and I remember being very, very happy; happy enough that we were to be married."

"But something happened," said Kairi, "something bad."

"There were dark forces who were jealous of The Moon Kingdom and wished to destroy it," said Rei, "and possesses the source of the power of The Silver Millennium."

"The crystal I saw in my vision," said Aiden.

"Ginzuishō," said Usagi, "the Silver Crystal."

"Endymion and Serenity both died in the final battle against the enemy, The Dark Kingdom," said Mako, "as did we. In our past lives, we were princesses of the inner planets of the solar system. I was of Jupiter."

"Mercury," said Ami.

"Venus," said Mina.

"Mars," said Rei.

"That's easy enough to see," said Kairi, "of the Roman gods, Mercury was the cleverest," she indicated Ami, "Venus was the goddess of beauty," she indicated Mina, "Mars had a fiery passion," indicating Rei, "and Jupiter was the most electrifying," indicating Mako.

"You got that right," said a grinning Mako.

"We were the guardians of Princess Serenity," said Rei, "and we fought with everything we had against The Dark Kingdom, but it wasn't enough."

"My mother, Queen Serenity," said Usagi, "she was the last one alive in our home. She used all her power to banish The Dark Kingdom and then she sent our souls into the future where we would be safe."

"But we weren't safe for long," said Ami.

"We figured as much," said Sora, while Kairi, Riku and Aiden nodded in agreement.

"The Dark Kingdom returned," said Mako, "but they were still weak from Queen Serenity's last efforts. They needed life energy in order to recharge their powers."

"They sent monsters out to gather life energy from people," said Mina, "monsters called Youmas."

"Some Youmas could possesses people," said Rei, "others could masquerade as humans. All of them possessed terrible dark powers and were capable of draining the life out of innocent men, women and children."

"But they were defeated by five warriors of love and justice," said a smiling Usagi, "The Sailor Senshi."

"It was a long and terrible struggle," said Ami, "but in the end, The Sailor Senshi defeated the Dark Kingdom once and for all and restored peace to the world, for a little while that is."

"There have been others who tired to take life energy from the people of Earth," said Rei, "there were a pair of alien lovers from another galaxy, but they weren't evil, just misguided."

"And there was another group of misguided aliens," said Mako, "but these were from the future who were trying to change the past to remake their time into something dark."

"And now there's a new enemy threatening Earth," said Mina.

"The Heartless," said Riku.

"We just told you we've never seen anything like The Heartless before," said Rei, "We're talking about something else."

"This new enemy is different," said Ami, "they're still using Youma, but they're called Diamons."

"Instead of stealing life energy," said Mako, "they're attacking people with strong, pure hearts."

"Sounds like Heartless to me," said Sora, while Kairi, Riku and Aiden nodded in agreement.

"From what you told us," said Ami, "Heartless make more of themselves by turning people into them. A Diamon attacks people with dark magic and extract the heart in a crystalline form. The victim is still alive, but they're no longer themselves."

"Still sounds like Heartless to me," said Sora, while Riku, Kairi and Aiden nodded again in agreement.

"Well we know that they're not Heartless," said Rei, "for several reasons."

"You told us that Heartless are creatures of instinct and can be controlled somewhat by Villains or anyone with dark hearts," said Mako, "Diamons and other Youma have intelligence, though their smartness varies from monster to monster."

"Some of them were pretty dumb," said Mina.

"But they were all completely loyal to their superiors," said Ami, "be it The Dark Kingdom, The Doom Tree, The Black Moon Family, or the new enemy, The Death Busters."

"And the most important difference," said Usagi, "we know that Diamons aren't Heartless, because we all had our heart crystals taken from us."

Sora, Riku, Kairi and Aiden were stunned for several seconds. "You're kidding," Kairi finally said.

"Well, not everyone," said Mako, "Mina-chan hasn't been attacked yet."

"I guess I'm special," said Mina in an unsure manner.

"How did you guys survive?" Aiden asked, "from what I can tell, a heart crystal is the energy of the heart, and if taken it'll leave the heart itself, the organ that pumps blood, intact, but empty."

"That's true," said Ami. She closed her eyes and sighed at remembering something very unpleasant, "to me it felt like I was completely hollow on the inside and would never be happy again."

"Same with us," said Rei, while Mako and Usagi also sighed.

"I know the feeling," said Kairi. She also sighed at an unpleasant memory, "I was attacked and had my heart taken from me. It was more than being empty and unhappy, it was like I had ceased to exist, yet still there as an empty shell, little more than a breathing doll.

"Sure, the organ that pumped blood kept pumping, but the spirit, the inner light that made me who I was, was gone, and I would still be that way or worse dead," she then looked at Sora with adoring eyes, "if it weren't for the one I love."

At that Sora blushed heavily.

"Oh, you two are together?" Mina asked eagerly, her eyes betraying mischievous thoughts.

"You could say that," Sora said uncomfortably. It was one thing to talk about his feelings for Kairi among friends, but something completely different when talking with those he had just met.

"What are you up to?" Rei suspiciously asked Mina.

"Well," said Mina in a plotting tone, "since Kairi and Sora are together, and you'd have to be a complete idiot not to know that they're meant to be together, I was thinking that, when they were ready, I could plan their wedding."

At that Sora and Kairi, who were sipping sodas, both spat out their sodas in surprise.

"We're not that close," said Kairi, "I mean…not yet anyway."

"Were we come from," said Sora, "you usually wait a while before getting married. Besides, Kairi and I aren't anywhere near that point."

"We've got way too much going on right now to worry about marrige," said Kairi.

"Well, when you decide to move to that stage in your relationship," said a grinning Mina, "talk to me."

"Never mind that," said Aiden abruptly. He looked at Usagi, Rei, Ami and Mako, "I have to know; how did you survive having your heart crystals removed?"

"I'm curious to that as well," said Riku.

"It was the Sailor Senshi," said Rei, "they fought and defeated each Diamon so far and put our heart crystals back where they belong before it was too late."

"They did the same with every person who was attacked by a Diamon," said Ami.

"The Sailor Senshi must surely be something," said an impressed Riku.

"But why are the Diamons doing this?" Kairi asked, "why are they stealing peoples' heart crystals?"

"The Diamons are just the minions of the real enemy," said Mako, "The Death Busters."

"We're still trying to figure out who they are what their exact plan is," said Rei, "but it isn't good." She looked at Sora and the others seriously, "I have a gift of the mind. I can sense danger and can sometimes see the future. A while back I had a vision of the end of the world, and that vision has recurred several times, all showing the world completely silent.

"Every living thing on the planet had been turned to stone and the planet itself was falling apart. It was as if the silence had unraveled the fabric of the universe, and somehow, The Death Busters will be the cause of it."

"We found out that they're looking for some very powerful magical items," said Ami, "several talismans that could give them the power to make Rei-chan's vision come true."

"We don't know what the talismans are or exactly what power they holds," said Usagi, "but the enemy thinks they are in several pure heart crystals."

"That's why they attacked you and so many others," said Sora, "they thought you had the talismans in you."

"Good thing they were wrong," said Rei, "and those other two were wrong."

"Other two?" Aiden.

"The Death Busters aren't the only ones searching for the talismans," said Mako, "there are two who want to keep the talismans away from the baddies, but they're willing to let innocent people suffer to find out of those people have the talismans in them."

"So far the other two haven't found the talismans either," said Mina, "but if they do, then they're willing to let more than one innocent die."

"They would have let one of you die if one of you had the talismans?" Kairi asked in an irate tone, "that's just wrong!"

"I know," said Usagi, "it's wrong where to win you have to make a sacrifice, especially if that sacrifice is the life of a person."

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save Mamoru," said Rei.

"That's true love," said Usagi, "and Mamo-chan would do the same for me in a heartbeat."

"Well I'm glad all of you are alright," said Sora, "and I agree; if you can't win without spilling innocent blood, then you shouldn't win at all."

"Try telling that to Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune," said an annoyed Mako, "those headstrong bitches really bug me."

"The other two are Sailor Senshi?" Riku asked.

"So they say," said Rei, "but we're not sure just whose side they're really on; ours or The Death Busters."

It was then that Sora, Riku, Kairi and Aiden all put 2 and 2 together; "You're the Sailor Senshi!" they all said.

"Bingo!" said a smiling Usagi.

"I was wondering how long it would take them to figure it out," said Mako.

"I would have given them another five minutes before telling," said Mina.

"I would have waited ten," said Ami.

As Sora and his friends learned more about Usagi and her friends, little did they know that the enemy, The Death Busters, were preparing to make their next move.

Deep underground the streets of Tokyo lay a secret laboratory where a man in a white lab coat and wearing glasses, plotted things most foul. The lighting in the lab was poor enough that his face couldn't be seen very well, but his maniacal expression, as well as a pair of large glasses that made his expression even more diabolical, was clearly visible. This is the nefarious Professor Tomoe, leader of the Death Busters.

Professor Tomoe stood next to a complex set of machinery and displayed it to five young women also wearing lab coats. Their faces were also hidden by the poor lighting of the lab.

"Behold, Witches 5," said Tomoe to the five women as he indicated the machinery, "the latest in Death Buster technology. Before this day, we were limited in our efforts to locate the talismans by the Diamon created in the field.

"As you ladies were aware, I had long ago discovered the means to create Diamons through a combination of dark magic and science. A Diamon Seed would be created in the lab and, under the guidance of the late Kaolinite…"

Tomoe then indicated a nearby memorial shrine that had a large photograph of a woman with dark red hair and wearing a red dress,

Tomoe then continued his symposium, "…would venture out into the streets above and infuse the Diamon Seed with an ordinary object located near a potential pure heart crystal.

"These Diamons were powerful in their own unique ways, depending on the object they were created from, and they did succeeded in extracting the pure heart crystals of all their targets. But their efforts were in vain, thanks to the interference of those meddlesome Sailor Senshi! We are still no closer to obtaining the talismans than we were when we began the search!" Those last two sentences were spoken with much hate and rage.

The mad scientist then spoke in a calmer tone, "but not any more, my dear Witches. Now, the situation has changed. Before, I could only create one Diamon Seed at a time. But now we finally have the means to mass-produce them, and with this machine, we can create any Diamon we wish here in this lab, under a controlled environment."

Tomoe looked at his diabolical creation, "soon, soon we will find the pure heart crystals containing the elusive talismans. Soon, we will defeat those meddling Sailor Senshi! Soon we will have everything we need to bring about The Silence that will end this miserable world and bring about a new order!"

With that, Tomoe began laughing like the mad scientist he was, while the shadowed Witches 5 applauded enthusiastically.

Just then a Dark Corridor opened up in the lab and from it emerged was someone who, at first glance appeared to be a teenaged boy, but he was actually in his 50's. He was wearing green and gray warlock robes. He was of medium height with long spiky, naturally gray hair and coal black eyes. He carried a black staff that had silver symbols carved into it.

"Have I arrived at a bad time?" the boy who was more than a boy asked. "I could come back when you're in a more receptive mood."

Tomoe quickly regained his composure, "there's no need to leave, though we weren't expecting you for another hour."

"I was fortunate to finish some errands early," said the youngish warlock. He bowed in respect, "it is an honor to make your acquaintance, Professor Tomoe. I am Nikolai Shadowstalker. I come as an emissary of Maleficent, the mistress of all evil, ruler of New Hollow Bastion, who wishes to make an alliance with The Death Busters."

"I welcome you to my domain, Nikolai Shadowstalker," said Tomoe as he and the Witches 5 bowed, "I'm sure we have much to discuss."

"That we do," said Nikolai Shadowstalker as he smiled with malicious intent, "that we do."

The end of chapter 2. Next chapter, our heroes learn more about Usagi and her friends as their rolls as the Sailor Senshi, while the baddies end up with something they didn't expect. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!