Always

Rebekah smiled at Felix. “Mine was pretty good. I got a job at the library,” she replied. “What about you? You look a little out of breath. Did you get some kind of heavy labor job?” ------------------------------------------------------------ “Yet another surprise, huh?” Alexis asked as she followed Scott upstairs. She still felt a little nervous around him, but the more time she spent with him, the less cautiously she acted. She was actually...starting to trust him. This was bad, probably exactly what he wanted, even. She reprimanded herself and became more alert, ready for anything to happen while she walked behind him.

OF COURSE I DID!! MoM Edition!!!! And of course I played it for a few hours yesterday. Haha my parents wouldn't have done that for me, either, because DDD is basically the only reason I got a 3DS. That's way I paid for the 3DS myself!!

Alexis nodded. It made sense, the training that Scott had gone through, to turn out like this. The fact that he had admitted it was hard was...interesting. And she felt that trickle of nervousness again when he told of how he had taken his trainer’s life in his hands, but spared him. But she only smirked at his question and held his chin with her hand. “Oh, Scott, I think you already know the answer to that. How could I turn down such an offer?” ------------------------------------------------------------ When Rebekah finally made it up to her room, she was surprised at the size of the bed there. She had glanced at the other rooms on her way to her own, and she knew for a fact that her bed was the biggest. She shook her head, knowing full well that she was one of the smaller people in the group, and she suppressed a laugh. Felix was spoiling her. She would have objected if Felix hadn’t already been out and about. She decided to find a job for herself as the others were doing... She headed to the nearest library and printed out her resume, then handed it in to the front desk. Not a ton of real work experience, but she had done quite a bit of volunteer work, and her academics were worth looking at. A couple hours later, she was hired and shelving books. This was exactly the kind of job that she preferred. Nice and quiet, and very organized. Not to mention plenty of books to read when things weren’t so busy. Once she had completed her first day on the job, she headed back to the house, wondering what kind of jobs everyone else had been hired for. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah smiled at Joy. He looked so happy with his new leg, and she touched his shoulder as they drove off. “Looks good on you,” she remarked. “So, what are we doing in Ohio?” At that moment, Keilani spoke up from the back. “The χ-blade.” She and Troy had been talking quietly to each other most of the time, so Mariah was a little surprised. She turned and looked at them questioningly. “Troy still has the χ-blade, and he’s only sharing his heart with Ven right now. The only way to truly get his heart back is to find a way to destroy the χ-blade.” She placed her hand over Troy’s and looked at Mariah pleadingly. Mariah, in turn, gave Joy a questioning look. “What do you think?” she asked quietly.

(Hm, nothing much for Mariah and Troy and Keilani to do at this point. Also, I'm really sorry I haven't posted as Matthew yet...at this point, I'm thinking it'll have to wait until this weekend. Sorry. ) For the first time, Alexis realized that she hadn’t truly known where she was this entire time...the only thing that had been going through her mind was “Scott’s house.” With the distraction of all the training, it hadn’t even occurred to her to wonder where exactly she was on the map. “Wow... I never would have guessed... What was it really like, training with Cain?” she asked out of genuine curiosity, letting some of her guard down. ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah looked down and pondered Felix’s question, though it hadn’t been directed at her. Where did she want to be once all this was over? All she could think of in her future, that seemed fairly certain, was Felix...and then she remembered that she hadn’t even met Felix before any of this started. It was crazy to think about.

“Sure, I’ll be back in a minute,” Mariah replied. She walked over to the park where Keilani and Troy were and found them sitting on a bench, completely silent, with Keilani leaning against him and Troy with his arm around her. They looked so sweet like that, and she hated having to interrupt. “Hey, you two lovebirds ready to go?” she asked with a wide smile. Troy and Keilani looked up at Mariah, startled out of the quiet, peaceful moment. Keilani grinned back. “Sure we’re ready!” She thought of making some funny comment about how long she and Troy had been waiting, but decided against it--it would be more awkward than anything. She and Troy got up together and held hands as they followed Mariah back to the dealership and met up with Joy again. ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah thought Callum’s suggestion was a bit odd, and she wondered what Felix was up to, but she shrugged. “Okay...Wal-Mart it is, then.” She took the keys from Callum and walked out of the gas station and to the car. “Felix has his phone, right?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis decided to enter the labyrinth through one of the other doors. She walked a ahead taking slow, cautious steps at first. The place was dark, but she could tell by the echoes of her footsteps that the room was large and empty. She wondered what kind of trap would be activated if more than three people walked through the room as Scott had talked about. After she determined that the floor was safe, her stride became faster and more confident. It seemed like a while before she finally came the end of the first room, only able to tell that she was at the end by having reached out her arms in front of her and felt the wall. She located a door and stepped through it.

Alexis’s face turned completely serious as she got ready for a potentially perilous situation. “So this is where it starts, huh? Okay, I’m ready.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Aqua put her hand on Callum’s shoulder. “Well, I promise it won’t happen again. I...don’t know what came over me. Um, okay, I think I’ll let Rebekah have herself back.” Aqua took her hand off of Callum’s shoulder, and once Rebekah was back in control, she smiled awkwardly at Callum. “Okay... So, what kinds of supplies do you need, Callum?” She felt like a jerk not trying to talk to him in a more personal way, but with the way Aqua was acting all of a sudden, she felt even more awkward and shy. When Felix came in and blew her a kiss, she grinned, barely blushing at all this time. She walked up to him and said, “I think this belongs to you.” The she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah let Joy lean against her and helped him out of the hotel and to the dealership. They got several weird looks, seeing a young man with only one leg, but Mariah ignored everyone and smiled at Joy. “You pick out the car. I’m good with anything.”

Rebekah got out of the car and followed Callum into the gas station. She looked over the stuff that he had and took a mental note of it. “Thanks, Callum. Hey, um, Aqua wanted to talk to you.” She let Aqua have control, and Aqua hesitated, not quite sure of how to start. “Hi, Callum. Um...I just wanted to apologize for putting you on the spot like that earlier. I didn’t mean to make you spill your guts in front of everyone. And...I’m sorry for thinking less of you in general, just because of...well, your Inhabiter.” She hoped that Vanitas wouldn’t be provoked by the comment. “Anyway, I hope you can forgive me, and...you’re doing good, Callum. I have confidence in you.” She smiled a little. ------------------------------------------------------------ “Labyrinth, huh?” Alexis said, her interest piqued. “Bring it on.” She smiled widely. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah nodded and got herself in the shower. Once she was ready, she got up next to Joy and put her arms around him, leaning her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat for a moment. She then looked up at him and smiled. “I guess we’ve kept Troy and Keilani waiting long enough. You ready?”

Alexis smirked. “Sounds like fun,” she replied. “And I slept very well, thank-you.” Of course, she left out the part about it being difficult for her to fall asleep in the first place because of all that was on her mind. “I feel great now. Challenge me today,” she said almost cheerily.

Rebekah smiled at Felix, grateful that he was being kind enough to try to break the barriers between Callum and everyone else. He was so generous, always thinking of others... ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis woke up after a very refreshing rest. Though she was still a bit wary of Scott, she was highly anticipating this second day of training. She got dressed and made her way downstairs, finding Scott already in the dining room. She picked her food out, getting just enough for her to run off of for the next several hours, and sat down at the table. “So, what’s on the schedule for today?” she asked Scott. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah smiled to herself as Joy got up to shower. She felt the happiest she had been in a very long time. She wrapped the bed sheet around herself as she waited for Joy to get out of the shower so that she could get in. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani sighed happily as she leaned on Troy. His frame felt solid and strong, but also warm and inviting, and his arm around her brought her extra reassurance and comfort. It was so indescribably wonderful to have him back, especially after she had started to give up hope that he would ever feel anything again. She could sit here with him like this forever.

Name: Matthew Liams Appearance: Inhabiter: Captain Jack Sparrow Weapons: Sword and pistol http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110727104310/pirates/images/0/0d/JackSparrowSword.jpg http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101009051005/pirates/images/b/b7/Jack_pistol.jpg Personality: Like his Inhabiter, self-serving and slightly insane, adventurous and willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goals. Very flirtatious, sometimes charming and sometimes just the opposite, and morally loose, though he does have a conscience that shows up once in a while. Age: 26 Height/Weight: 6’1”/160 lbs.

“Oh, sure,” Rebekah replied. It sounded like an odd request to her, but it would also give Aqua the opportunity she wanted to speak with Callum, so she decided not to question Felix further about it. She looked at Callum from the rearview mirror. He looked zoned out, and she could hear a little bit of the music coming through his headphones. Well, Aqua...it sounds like you’ll get your chance to talk to Callum pretty soon here, she thought.

Rebekah covered her eyes with one hand from embarrassment as Axel called to Roxas. She was beginning to wish that she had just stayed at the museum and waited while Felix and the rest of them picked up the car. She then looked up at Felix curiously. “What is it?” she asked.

Rebekah got in the front seat of the Camaro beside Felix and laughed. “Careful, Felix. I might start getting jealous,” she warned jokingly. “Rebekah...I’d like to talk to Callum alone when we get the chance. Is that okay?” Aqua suddenly asked. Sure...are you feeling okay, Aqua? You’ve been acting really weird. “I’m...I’m fine, really!” Okay then... ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah smiled. “I’ll take it.” She helped Joy up to their room and opened the door, kissing him on the way in. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani watched as Mariah and Joy went to the hotel across the street. It took her a moment to realize what was going on, but when she did, she blushed at the thought. “Um...how about we hang out at that park over there while we wait?” she said to Troy, pointing to a nice-looking park a short distance from the hotel.

Mariah looked into Joy’s eyes and blushed, suddenly finding it a little difficult to breathe. That was not something she had been expecting at this moment. But she felt like she was ready. She smiled shyly and nodded. “Why go for a cheep room?” she whispered back. “I’ll pay for an upgrade.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah’s face reddened even more when Felix described her as “hot” and then put her down on the Camaro. She hopped off as soon as she could, feeling put on the spot with several other people there who turned their heads as Felix created a scene. She glanced at Callum, concerned for him when he shared his uneasy feelings about Vanitas, and remembering having gotten the impression at one point that he liked her. She had started to like him as well a while back, but Felix...Felix was the only one for her. He drove her crazy and embarrassed her sometimes, but all in all, he was the most wonderful person alive as far as she was concerned. Once again, Aqua spontaneously took over Rebekah’s body and got between Felix and Callum. “No, he’s not, Felix. Don’t give him any ideas like that.” She spoke quietly but firmly. ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis went to her room and sat down on the large bed. Her thoughts drifted away from killing Felix...and she started thinking about Scott. Larxene, did you know that since I was sixteen, Scott is the first man I’ve ever interacted with for an extended period of time who hasn’t tried to jump in bed with me? “Okay...so?” Larxene replied, clearly uninterested. So, he’s...different. I don’t know, it’s just weird, almost as if it’s another form of manipulation...ugh! Never mind! Forget I said anything to you! “Don’t worry, I will. And I’ll tell you again how stupid you’re being for trusting him in the first place. He’ll probably end up killing you once you’re of no further use to him. And I won’t be particularly happy about dying along with you.” Alexis growled with frustration and fell back on the bed with her mind racing. It was a while before she finally fell asleep.

Rebekah’s face went bright red as Felix carried her. Not that she didn’t like being carried...but with everyone else watching, she felt embarrassed. “Felix, what are you doing?” she protested quietly, though she also couldn’t quite keep the smile off of her face. What surprised her even more than Felix’s sudden action, though, was what he said about her being popular. He must be imagining things. “Um, Felix, I think you’re the only one who has his eyes on me...though I still sometimes wonder why...” ------------------------------------------------------------ “Aye, captain!” Keilani said, saluting to Joy. She followed him, bringing Troy with her. As they went, Keilani stood on her tiptoes and kissed Troy’s cheek. “It’s good to be traveling with you again. ------------------------------------------------------------ “Joy, do you need my help?” Mariah asked. She got beside him and offered to let him lean on her as they started to leave. ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis’s hand went to the left side of her face where Felix had struck her. It was still a little swollen, and there was probably a large bruise forming there by now. “So painful that death will be a relief to him,” she said quietly, her eyes staring off into some distant place. “I’ll get to his precious Rebekah before him. Make her suffer right in front of him, then finish him off slowly. Emotional pain added to the physical.” She smiled as she thought of this.

Alexis thought for a moment about Scott’s question, not turning around to face him just yet. “Of course, it’ll take some planning, as well as strength and endurance. Probably some deception as well. I’d like to take them out one at a time, if possible. See if I can’t mess around with their emotional bonds. It’s obvious that they’re stronger when they’re grouped, which won’t do me a shred of good. I’ll need to separate them if I can, emotionally and geographically, then take out the weak ones first, and work my way up to the stronger ones.” She turned and looked up at Scott with confidence. “That’s how I always carry out my business.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Aqua felt bad for putting Callum on the spot. She hoped she could make it up to him later. She would need to find a way to apologize to him alone...well, Rebekah and Vanitas would have to be present no matter what, but away from Felix and Alex at least would be good enough. Rebekah took Felix’s hand and squeezed it. “That’s right,” she said. “We’ve all got each other. So, shall we start heading to the car dealership now?” ------------------------------------------------------------ “Of course!” Keilani replied with a smile. “You’ll be as good as new in no time!”

“Awesome!” Keilani said, skipping over to Joy and Mariah and pulling Troy along with him...just as she had when they’d first met. “So where are the four of us going to go?” she asked Joy. ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah was impressed about what Felix said about the mayor, and she was just about to make a comment when Aqua unexpectedly spoke through her. “What do you mean?” she asked Callum. Her face went a little red, and she looked down. “S-sorry. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” She gave control back to Rebekah before anything else weird occurred. Rebekah’s mouth was hanging open, and she tried to regain her composure. “I think Aqua’s just extra curious about everything right now,” she said, trying to laugh it off. ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis grinned darkly. “With pleasure,” she replied. She walked towards the men slowly and decided to do this the old-fashioned way--no lightning, just knives and speed. She lunged at them, kicking into their temples or slitting their throats. “How does it feel, bitches?!” she screamed at them as she took them out one by one.

Alexis smirked. This was more up her alley. On Scott's “go,” she threw each knife at great speed—most of her shots were kills, but a just a couple weren't. She realized that Scott watching her was making her nervous...but she would never admit that to him. “Hmph. Just a little tired, I guess,” she said with a shrug. ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah smiled at Felix again. “I can't wait to see it,” she said.

Rebekah and Mariah nodded in agreement with Felix's plan. Rebekah was happy to be Felix's lieutenant, and she grinned back at him. She looked at Callum in surprise when he asked to be on their team, but she smiled and didn't object. There was a warm feeling in her heart...and she realized it wasn't her own, but it was coming from Aqua. Aqua...what's up? Why the sudden happiness? “What? Oh, um...I just think this is turning out to be a good team, that's all...” You mean...you're happy that we have Callum, who's Inhabited by Vanitas, on our team?? I mean, I don't mind Callum, but I thought you didn't want to be around him! “Well, he's a good fighter! And he seems to be able to keep Vanitas under control pretty well...” Rebekah shrugged, mystified by her Inhabiter's sudden change of heart. She was a little disappointed that they had room for only one more person on their team, and she wished it could be Troy...but she could tell that he would never want to be separated from Keilani. Maybe she and Aqua shouldn't need to worry about him and Ven so much, though... ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah smiled at Joy. “I'd love to be your lieutenant,” she said. She then looked at Troy and Keilani. There was no way those two would be on different teams, and Keilani would probably need lots of protection. Troy had the χ-blade, which she had heard was incredibly powerful, and he himself looked like a good fighter as well. “Do you guys want to be on our team?” she offered. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani looked from Mariah to Troy and back at Mariah again. “Sure, I'd love to,” she said with a smile. “How about it, Troy?”

(Ah!! Must catch up! ) Rebekah took a powerful kick to the ribs and was knocked to the floor, gasping a little. She saw Felix get slammed into the wall at such an incredible force it was a wonder he was still conscious, or even alive. She held a hand to her throbbing ribs as she ran to him and knelt in front of him to make sure that he wouldn’t get hurt when Ethan started attacking them. But both James and Ethan were gone in a flash, and once everything had calmed down, she waited for Felix to respond to Troy. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani felt relieved that Troy hadn’t been hurt, and she ran up next to him, waiting for Felix’s response. Something lingered at the back of her mind, though. Scott had told her to tell James that thing about Ethan...whether it was true, she didn’t know and really didn’t care, but would something happen to her or Troy if she didn’t get that message to James? She wondered if there would be a way to find him later. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah arrived at the museum and could tell by the others’ injuries and weary looks that a fight had just taken place. “What happened?” she asked. ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis was startled at Scott’s incredible strength. She resisted the temptation to gulp as she wound up and punched the same bag. 175. She gritted her teeth and tried not to show her embarrassment. “I’m a little more about speed and stealth,” she said, shaking out her fist.

Rebekah gasped as James went for Troy. She didn’t even have time to think of how Troy had gotten there. She ran over and slashed at James from the back, but missed him by a few inches, having forgotten how fast she heard James could be when...Sephiroth was influencing him. “Oh, no...” she whispered. ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis was unable to suppress her laughter upon hearing the story behind the IRS-tagged men. “You really will make a great partner,” she said, stretching her arms and wrists. “So, where do we start?”

“I can’t wait to see the facility,” Alexis said, following Scott. She was beginning to like the terms of this partnership more and more. Of course, it wasn’t her goal to hurt Ethan in any way--he could go off and have a nice life, for all she cared. Now, hurting James...while that wasn’t high in her priority list either, it would be sort of fun to see the weak-minded fool suffer, especially because he seemed to believe that he was truly strong and worth her time. The poor idiot. It was only Sephiroth who made him strong, and that was her goal--to unleash Sephiroth on the other Inhabiters and their hosts, and watch their merry band fall apart, if only for the hell of it. ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah entered the museum and was shocked to see Felix and James fighting. Was James in some kind of frenzy again? Then, seeing the look on Felix’s face, she guessed the aggression was mutual. She summoned her Keyblade and got between them. “What’s wrong with you guys?!” she yelled. She then thought of Mariah. If Mariah showed up while James was in this state, she could be in trouble. But hopefully by getting between them Rebekah would be able to calm both of these guys down before Mariah came in.

I've never finished a video game 100% in my life, so I don't intend to finish KH3D 100% anytime soon. But it would be nice to someday in the distant future.

Alexis scowled and stared at the table. “Well, that’s kind of the thing,” she said carefully. “As you pointed out, I don’t particularly care about anyone aside from myself. I don’t want anyone else’s problems to become my own. Nor do I want to have to depend on anybody else.” She shrugged and looked up at Scott. “But, okay, let’s say I was one of those women who wanted to be governed by a man for the rest of her life. You’re tall, handsome, strong, intelligent, rich, and quite the doter,” she said nonchalantly. “And, oddly...loyal to me. So indeed, why not you?” She stood up and walked over to him, running a hand over his shoulder. “But I’m not one of those women. I’ve never, ever been faithful to a man. What if I’m unable to break that habit? What would you do to me then?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah nodded. “Alright, let’s go!” she said. She didn’t want to keep Felix waiting too much longer. She looked at Tudi and said, “Hey, have you seen Tyler around? Tell him that we’re going to the art museum.” She exited the hospital and started walking quickly toward the museum. Mariah hesitated. She felt like she should be the one to help Joy, but Joy seemed fine with Callum. It hurt her so terribly to see Joy with only one leg...he looked devastated about it. She smiled at him and Callum sadly and said, “Okay, meet you guys there.” She then went toward the museum as well, following not too far behind Rebekah.

For a fleeting moment, Alexis felt self-conscious. Though the clothes she was wearing were expensive, they looked out of place here, and she felt...underdressed. She drove the thought out of her head angrily. Why did that matter? She could dress however the hell she wanted--she didn’t need to feel awkward just because her apparel was mismatched with her environment. She sat down slowly and started eating a very small portion of each dish offered. “So...I’m guessing James and Ethan are no longer included in your plans?” she wondered aloud. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ethan paused and turned around. “Whoa whoa whoa, what have we here?” He saw James fly in to the museum from a distance and smirked. “Ah...so he finally made it to the party, huh? Well, if he still cares for Alexis, he’ll probably track her dear brother down in order to find her.” He walked back to the Denny’s that he had been at just before and decided to wait for James there. In the meantime, he would get the attention of that cute waitress...