Last time our heroes got to know Usagi and her friends. Aiden told Usagi that she was a Princess of Heart and she believed him. Sora and the others then learned that Usagi and her friends were reincarnated, that in their past lives they were part of a powerful and benevolent kingdom that ruled the worlds of the solar system with kindness and justice. We learned of the various evils that have threatened this world, and of the five Sailor Senshi who defends the world against the evil, especially the current evil who are searching for a magical talismans inside someone's' heart. Sora and the gang then realized that Usagi and her friends are the Sailor Senshi.

Meanwhile, the current evil threatening the world, The Death Busters, prepared to escalate their plans to destroy the world, when one of the Hakonians serving Maleficent, Nikolai Shadowstalker, arrived on the scene. 'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 3: The Sailor Senshi

"So, what exactly is a Sailor Senshi?" Aiden asked. "What are you all about?"

"It's really cool," said Usagi, "but it can be really scary sometimes. We almost died a few times saving the world."

"I lost count of the number of times my friends and I nearly died," said Sora. "But we've always pulled through in the end."

"So do we," said Usagi, while Ami, Rei, Mako and Mina nodded in agreement.

"From what you told us," said Rei, "your near-death experiences greatly outnumber ours."

"Too true," said Riku, while Sora, Kairi and Aiden nodded in agreement.

"But how did you go from being normal girls to super heroes?" Kairi asked, "who were also reincarnated princesses of other planets?"

"And the Moon," said Sora, "Don't forget that."

"Thanks," said Usagi.

"Any time," said Sora.

"It's a long story," said Mako, "how we became The Sailor Senshi."

"It all started with me," said Usagi, "you may not believe it, but I'm really not all that good at school. I hate math and I'm struggling with English and everything else, except Home Economics."

"Even though she can't cook to save her life," said Rei in a teasing manner.

"This coming from someone who is completely inept at science," teased Mina.

"We all have our faults," said Ami, "I used to be completely immersed in my studies, emotionally repressed and had absolutely no friends."

"And I used to get into a lot of fights at my old school," said Mako, "and Mina-chan was also a bit of a lone wolf."

"But we all changed for the better when we met Usagi-chan," said Mina, "And became Sailor Senshi."

"Which brings us to how we became Sailor Senshi," said Usagi, "about a year ago I was on my way to school."

"Late as usual," teased Rei.

"Anyway," said an annoyed Usagi, "I was running to school, when I saw a black cat being harassed by several naughty kids. I saved the cat and she sort of followed me home later. Believe it or not, this cat, her name is Luna by the way, she can talk."

"A talking cat," said Aiden in a tone that wasn't sure he believed her.

"It's true," said Mina.

"Luna told me that I was a Sailor Senshi," said Usagi, "that it was my destiny to fight evil, save the world, and find the reincarnated Moon Princess. I thought I was dreaming that a talking cat was telling me that I was a super hero. Why would I believe it? I sucked at school and I was a bit of a crybaby."

"You were more than a bit," said Rei.

"But you have grown in maturity, Usagi-chan," said Ami, "you're much stronger than you were in the beginning."

"You're acting different even now," said Mako, "You seem, well…"

"More sure of yourself than normal," said Mina, "like you're using your entire brain for a change."

"I do feel different," said Usagi, "like I'm more than I was."

"I think we had something to do with it," said Kairi.

"Like our coming here brought out something in her," said Riku.

"Like another personality," said Ami, "as if her memories of Princess Serenity are emerging again."

"Really?" an astonished Usagi asked, "wait, let me try remembering something," she closed her eyes in concentration, "wait, I think…no…wait a second…um…" she opened her eyes, "nope, nothing." she sighed in disappointment.

"She's still our Usagi-chan alright," said Mina.

"Maybe it's just Serenity's personality that's showing through," said Riku.

"That makes sense, I guess," said Usagi, "wait, where was I in the story?"

"Your talking cat told you that you were a super hero," said Sora.

"Oh, right," said Usagi, "anyway, Luna told me that I was a soldier of love and justice. I didn't believe her, until she gave me a broach that allowed me to transform into Sailor Moon. Then I believed her.

"Thinks weren't easy for me at first. All those scary Youma attacking and stealing people's energy, and I didn't know what I was doing half the time. I probably would have been killed on the first day, if it weren't for a very special someone.

"I wasn't the only one fighting The Dark Kingdom. There was another who was also searching for the silver crystal and the reincarnated Serenity; Tuxedo Kamen, a real hero. Every time I was in danger, Tuxedo Kamen would arrive and help me. It wasn't long before I was hopelessly in love with him. And it wasn't longer before I was also in love with the man behind the mask."

"Ahem," said an annoyed Rei, "when are you going to get to us?"

"We're as much a part of the story as you and Mamoro are," said Mako.

"Oh, right," said a slightly embarrassed Usagi, "sorry. Anyway, one by one I met my friends and they discovered that they too were Sailor Senshi."

"Sailor Mercury," said Ami.

"Sailor Mars," said Rei.

"Sailor Jupiter," said Mako.

"Sailor Venus," said Mina as she winked at Sora and the others, "but before that I was a masked vigilante named Sailor V."

"The rest is history," said Ami, "we eventually found out that Usagi-chan is Princess Serenity, while Tuxedo Kamen, whose real name is Mamoru Chiba, was the reincarnation of Prince Endymion."

"That's when we fell in love all over again," said a smiling Usagi.

"To make a long story short, we eventually defeated The Dark Kingdom and their leaders," said Rei, "but it nearly cost us our lives."

"We did die," said Mako, "But Usagi-chan, she used the Silver Crystal to bring us all back to life. But that cost us our memories."

"We eventually did remember everything," said Mina, "just in time to save the world from an pair of alien lovers trying to harvest human energy to save an alien tree."

"Then we had to save the world from aliens from the future," said Rei.

"And I had to protect my future daughter from those aliens," said Usagi.

"Wait a second," said Kairi, "okay, I get that you used a magic crystal to resurrect everyone, and I also get the evil tree and the aliens from the future."

"That tree wasn't really evil," said Mina, "nor were the alien lovers, who were posing as human brother and sister by the way. They weren't evil, just misguided."

"And the aliens from the future were also misguided," said Ami, "The Black Moon Family thought they could rule the world by changing the past, but they were being controlled by a dark spirit."

"I get that," said Kairi, she then looked at Usagi, "but what's this about your future daughter?"

"Neo Princess Serenity," said Ami, "or just Usagi, like our Usagi-chan. We called her Chibi-Usa for short."

"And she was a little brat," said a disgruntled Usagi, "we didn't know that I, as Neo Queen Serenity, sent Chibi-Usa back to this time in order to protect her from the enemy. But that didn't give her the right to make my life miserable."

"We keep saying that you and Chibi-Usa are more alike than you realize," said Mako.

"Genetic," said Rei.

"Well she was still a brat!" said Usagi stubbornly, "a brat that tried to steal Mamo-chan from me! And she nearly did!"

"Aren't you forgetting the fact that Mamoru kept having those nightmares about you dieing?" Ami asked.

"Oh yeah," said Usagi, "Mamo-chan's future self, Neo King Endymion, he sent Mamo-chan these really scary nightmares about me getting killed on our wedding day."

"That's terrible!" said Sora, "why would he…I mean…why would his future self do that to himself?"

"I'm getting confused here," said a slightly distressed Aiden, "first we go back into the past, now there's talk about a bunch of aliens, nightmares and daughters from the future. I'm getting a headache from all of this."

"Just remember," said Kairi, "wibbily-wobbly timey-wimey."

"Right," said Aiden, "so, why did your boyfriend do that to himself?"

"Neo Endymion was testing Mamoru," said Rei, "in the future, Neo Serenity wound up in an enchanted sleep after sending Chibi-Usa back in time. Endymion knew that the Sailor Senshi of this time would eventually go into the future to try and set things right there. He wanted to test the commitment of his past self."

"If the two of them are the same person at heart," said Sora, "why did the future one test the past one?"

"Being reincarnated again in the future changed us both," said Usagi, "just as Mamo-chan and I are different from our past lives a thousand years ago, we'll also be different again in the future, in another thousand years. Neo Endymion needed to know if Mamo-chan loved me enough to do anything to keep me safe, even if it meant giving me up.

"Those nightmares about me dieing, Mamo-chan saw them as a warning that I would be killed and it would be his fault for not stopping it. He tried to leave me in order to protect me, but we loved each other too much to let a false warning from the future tear us apart."

"Now that's what I call true love," said an amazed Kairi, "to keep loving each other for over 2,000 years, now that's something."

"It is," said Usagi.

"Moving on," said Ami, "we eventually defeated The Black Moon Family and the dark spirit controlling them. Chibi-Usa went back to her time, where everything had been put right again."

"And just when we thought we could have normal lives for a while," said Mina, "these new Youma, Diamons, show up and start stealing peoples heart crystals."

"And there are those two other Senshi," said an irate Mako, "Sailor Uranus and Neptune. Just whose side are they on?"

"And then you guys show up and say that Usagi-chan is a Princess of Heart," said Rei, "But what does that mean exactly?"

"That Usagi has a very pure heart," said Kairi, "and that purity has great power that can be used for great good. I should know, I was one."

"But such a pure heart can be used for great evil," said Riku, "If Maleficent ever learns that Usagi is a Princess of Heart…"

"She'll come after me," said Usagi in a slightly nervous but serious tone.

"No way we'll let that happen!" said an eager and confident Mina, "we'll die to protect our Usagi-chan, again, if we have to!"

"I don't think martyring yourselves again will protect Usagi from the darkness," said Aiden, "but being careful would definitely help."

"Are you saying that Usagi-chan should go into hiding?" Rei asked.

"That may not be a bad idea," said Riku.

"I can't!" said Usagi defiantly, "my friends and I are needed here to fight the Diamons! My powers can destroy those things. So many people are counting on the Sailor Senshi. If we just disappear, the world will be in terrible danger."

"I didn't mean that," said Aiden, "what I was trying to say was that you need to keep your eyes open for The Heartless."

"Maleficent will surely send The Heartless to this world in order to drown the world in darkness," said Riku.

"And you should also find this worlds' Keyhole," said Kairi, "if it's unlocked, then the world will surely fall to the darkness."

"But if we seal it," said Sora, "then the darkness can never destroy this world."

"It would be nice to take care of a threat before it starts," said Rei in a contemplative manner.

"It would," said Ami while Mina and Mako nodded in agreement.

"So how about this," said Usagi, "we'll help you find this Keyhole thing, and you'll tell me more about this Princess of Heart business."

"Deal," said Kairi. With that she and Usagi shook hands.

"Any chance you could help us with The Death Busters?" Mina asked.

"That would be meddling," said Sora, "we're interfering with this world's natural progression just by being here."

"Such is the curse of being a Keyblade Wielder," said Riku, "we try to interfere as little as possible, but sometimes we can't help it."

"But we'd be poor Keyblade Wielders indeed if we just stood on the sidelines if a Diamon attacked while we were here," said Aiden, "we'll help in any way we can."

"That's great," said a smiling Usagi.

Just then what sounded like a cell phone ringing happened. Usagi pulled out from her purse what appeared to be a compact makeup kit that turned out to be a portable videophone, "It's Luna!" she opened the compact, "hi Luna!"

"Usagi-chan," said a female voice on the other end of the video phone, the voice sounded kind and strict at the same time, "I sensed a strange energy pattern near you. Are you and the others alright?"

"We're fine, Luna," said Rei as she, Mina, Mako and Ami clustered around Usagi.

"It's not the enemy," said Mako, "it's definitely not a Diamon attack."

"We made some really nice friends," said Mina, "they're from another world and another time."

"And they say I'm a Princess of Heart!" said a smiling Usagi.

"A what?" said the voice, Luna.

"I know, it's confusing at first," said Ami, "but after talking to Sora and the others, it made sense."

"I'd like to talk to this Sora and his friends," said Luna.

"Oh, yeah," said Usagi, "sure." she placed the compact on the table and faced it towards Sora and the others. They saw, where the mirror should be, a black cat with a gold crescent moon on her forehead.

"They're definitely not from this world," said Luna as she looked at Sora, Riku, Kairi and Aiden.

"A talking cat," said Aiden, "okay, now I really have seen everything."

"Don't say that," remarked Kairi, "'cause then you'll see something new."

"We're pleased to make your acquaintance, Luna," said Riku to the cat in the mirror.

"And I'm pleased to met you as well," said Luna, "but what is this about Usagi-chan being a Princess of Heart?"

And so once again Sora and his friends had to tell their story, only this time to a talking cat.

"Very impressive instillation, Professor Tomoe," said Nikolai Shadowstalker, "and the humans have no idea that you are down here plotting the destruction of the world?"

"Secrecy was the fist thought on my mind when I chose this site for my work," said Tomoe after giving Nikolai a grand tour of the lab.

"We do not share that concern in New Hollow Bastion," said Nikolai, "the mistress of all evil took the former headquarters of Organization XIII, The Castle that Never Was, an already formidable castle, and turned it into an impenetrable fortress of darkness. It's only a matter of time before we're ready to plunge all of existence into that darkness."

"And your mistress wishes The Death Busters to be part of that darkness," said Tomoe.

"Assuming you can provide a suitable contribution to the darkness, yes," said Nikolai, "one worthy of Maleficent's attention and praise. It all depends on my report to the mistress of all evil."

"I do believe I have something that your mistress would enjoy," said Tomoe, "Yes, I may have just what Maleficent has in mind." He then showed Nikolai to the machine he had been showing to the Witches 5. Two of the five were still there.

"With this device," said Tomoe as he indicated the machine, "I can create any style of Diamon I wish, depending on the target person whose pure heart we are after."

"I'm curious as to how you obtain these pure hearts," said Nikolai as he admired the vile machine.

"One of my new assistants would be more than happy to explain," said Tomoe. He then indicated to one of the Witches, "Eugeal."

"Yes, Professor Tomoe," said the woman. She stepped forward and the dim light of the lab revealed her features. She had long bright red hair tied pack into two ponytails and wore glasses. She had the look of a logical scientist, but also had a mild temper that could blaze with the right provocation.

Eugeal spoke; "at first, each Daimon was created by sending a Diamon seed out among the humans. The seed would infuse with an ordinary object near a person with a pure heart. The resulting Diamon had a black pentagram mark somewhere on her body that would blast the human with dark magic, extracting the pure heart in the form of a crystal.

"But now we're doing things a little different. Now, instead of sending a seed out to find a target, we're selecting the target here beforehand. I'm currently creating a computer program that can search the human databases for people with pure hearts. This program will, hopefully, narrow down our search for the pure hearts that houses the talismans we desire."

"And with the talismans," said Tomoe, "we'll be able to awaken the Messiah of Silence and bring this world to its doom!"

"An intriguing plan," said Nikolai in an appraising manner as he summoned a cup of hot chocolate and sipped from it. "Tell me, will these new Diamons also be able to extract the pure heart crystals?"

"That's something we've changed," said Eugeal, "the new Diamons will serve a new purpose as bodyguards. I will perform the heart crystal extraction myself." she then showed Nikolai what appeared to be a futuristic rifle that had a barrel shaped like a pentagram.

"This is only the prototype," said Eugeal, "the finished product will be much more streamline and elegant. But once the blaster is perfected, I'll be able to shoot dark magic at the target human from a safe distance and extract the pure heart crystal."

"You said that the Diamons will be bodyguards now," said Nikolai, "against what?"

"Against whom you mean," said Tomoe in a grim tone, "this world, unfortunately, is not without its defenders."

"Oh yes," said Nikolai after sipping his chocolate again, "the Sailor Senshi. I remember hearing about them in my briefing before leaving New Hollow Bastion. Are they really as serious a threat?"

"They've been stopping us so far," said the other of the Witches 5 in the room. She stepped forward and was revealed to be a woman with short orange hair and also wore glasses. She had the look of a minor airhead.

"Every time we sent out a Diamon Seed to become a Diamon, the monster gets destroyed by that horrible Sailor Moon and her friends. And we haven't even gotten close to finding the right pure heart crystal. Poor Kaolinite got really close to finding the right one, but she was killed for her trouble."

"Don't tell our guests about our short comings, Mimete!" snapped Eugeal, "we're trying to make a good impression."

"Well I'm just telling it like it is," said Mimete.

"So, the Sailor Senshi are a serious threat," said Nikolai, "how confident are you that the new Diamons can destroy your enemies?"

"We won't know until we try," said Eugeal, "if the first one fails, then we'll improve the next one, and the next, and the next, until we either finally destroy those meddling brats, or find the talismans, whichever comes first."

"I wish it were that simple with another group of meddling brats," muttered Nikolai as he sipped his chocolate.

"What's that?" Eugeal asked.

"Nothing," said Nikolai, "Just a personal thought. Now, when will you being producing Diamons in the laboratory?"

"The machine is in its final testing phase," said Tomoe, "all that is necessary select the first target human."

"And we will once my selection program and the heart crystal gun are finished," said Eudial.

"Then the only rouge elements would be the Sailor Senshi," said Nikolai.

"Correct," said Tomoe.

"What if you had something that was sure to remove the Sailor Senshi from the equation?" Nikolai asked, "something that would completely overwhelm them almost instantly?"

"You are referring to The Heartless," said Tomoe.

Nikolai nodded in acknowledgement as he finished his chocolate and vanished the empty cup, "this world has never seen anything like The Heartless. The humans as a whole would have no defense against them, even more so when the Keyhole of this world is found and unlocked. As for the Sailor Senshi, despite their success record, I doubt they could resist such a rising tide of darkness."

"Let me guess," said Eugeal, "we'd be able to use The Heartless, but only after agreeing to the alliance with Maleficent."

"It pleases me that you understand," said Nikolai as he nodded in acknoledgement, "it's refreshing to be with such agreeing and intelligent people."

"I take it that you aren't used to such treatment from your comrades," said Tomoe.

At that Nikolai sighed, "Let's just say that most of my fellow Hakonians are not easy to be around with, especially when one is busy enriching the mind in the dark arts."

"That is true," said Tomoe, "again, we have much to discuss. But before we begin negotiation the terms of the alliance, I wish to be assured that The Heartless are up to the task of destroying the Sailor Senshi."

"I understand," said Nikolai as he summoned a crystal ball, "which is why I've prepared this visual display of the unstoppable power of The Heartless."

The images in the crystal ball revealed various forms of Heartless in action, doing what Heartless do best; seeking out hearts and turning them to darkness. The crystal ball also showed the unlocking of several Keyholes, resulting in several worlds being drowned in darkness.

"Impressive," said Tomoe, "can The Heartless do that in this world?"

"They can do that and more," said Nikolai. He then summoned several Shadows, "normally they are creatures of instinct, but the right person can control them. Under the right influence, Heartless will obey your every command."

"Are you sure about that?" Mimete anxiously asked as she watched the Shadows scamper about the lab, both in 3D and 2D form.

"Well," Nikolai said in a slightly sheepish tone, "Pureblood types can be more willful than Emblem types. But their stubbornness vanishes once you establish dominance over them."

"Wish I was as confident as you are," said Eugeal. She then saw a Shadow crawling over the Diamon making machine. "Hey you!" she shouted at the Shadow went 2D and entered the chamber of the machine where the item would go to be infused with a Diamon seed, "get out of there! That's a very sensitive and expensive piece of equipment!" but the Shadow remained in the chamber.

"I'll get it!" said Mimete. She rushed over to pull the Shadow away from the machine, but she tripped over a power cable and ended up hitting the activation button of the machine.

The door to the chamber slammed shut, trapping the Shadow inside and the machine came online.

"Mimete you idiot!" snapped Eugeal.

"It was an accident!" said a distraught Mimete.

"I take it this isn't supposed to happen," said Nikolai.

"I designed the Diamon seeds to infuse with inanimate objects only," said Tomoe, "not with anything alive, or at least anything that can move on its own, and certainly nothing like a Heartless."

"Can the process be stopped?" Nikolai asked.

"Once the door closes," said Tomoe as the machine injected a Diamon seed into the chamber and the infusion process began, "it cannot be opened until the Diamon is complete, otherwise we could risk a serious explosion from all the energy inside. No, we are about to produce something completely unexpected; a Heartless/Diamon hybrid."

"What kind of monster are we talking about, Professor?" Eugeal asked.

"It will depend on what the creature says," said Tomoe, "when a Diamon is formed, the first word it says is its name, which reflects what manner of creature it is."

The air pulsed with dark magic as a female demonic voice emanated from the chamber, "Kurayami!"

Kurayami=Darkness

At the far end of the machine, a 3-foot cubed box with the black pentagram of the Death Busters, exited the machine out onto a conveyer belt. The machine powered down and the door to the infusion chamber opened empty.

"The creature is in that box?" Nikolai asked.

"We designed a compacting feature," said Eugeal, "for easy transportation to the human target."

Just then the box shook violently as a fist sized indentation appeared on one side, then on another, then another.

"Looks like someone wants to get out," said a nervous Mimete as she hid behind Eugeal.

The top of the box then flew off. Dark purple smoke rose from the box. When the smoke cleared, a female humanoid with dark skin and clawed limbs stood in front of the Villains. It, she, had antenna and glowing yellow eyes like a Shadow, but wore a black dress and long black hair down to her waist. A pitch-black pentagram adorned both palms of her hands

She looked around at the lab and saw Tomoe, Eugeal, Mimete and Nikolai. She then spoke, "I am Kurayami. I am a Heartless/Diamon hybrid. I exist!"

"Amazing," said Nikolai.

"Fantastic!" said Tomoe.

The end of chapter 3.

Next chapter, our heroes face their greatest challenge yet as the newest edition to the darkness breaks free to wreck havoc on the universe that created her. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!