Always

Rebekah looked at the text message Felix sent her. ‘Okay, trying to gather everyone now,’ she responded. She looked at Mariah and Joy anxiously. Even though she felt terrible for Joy, she had to make sure they all got to the museum quickly. “You know, Joy, if we all get out of here soon, we may run into James along the way. Mariah nodded. “She’s right. What do you think, Joy?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis couldn’t wait to start training, but she was also famished, realizing that she hadn’t eaten since the morning before. “I wouldn’t mind having something to eat...” she told him. She wondered if this would be some kind of test from Scott--ask if she was hungry, then deny her food and have her start training right away on an empty stomach and little sleep. It wouldn’t surprise her.

Rebekah noticed a text from Felix urging her to get everyone to meet at the museum. She then remembered all the bodies that were probably still there, and didn’t think it would be a good idea to lead everyone in to that. She texted him back: ‘What about all the bodies? I don’t want anyone else to have to see those... But I’ll get everyone over there as soon as I can.’ She looked back up at Tudi. “Hey, are you ready to get out of here? Felix wants us to meet up at the art museum.” She then popped her head into Joy’s room, though she knew she wasn’t supposed to, and told everyone in there the same thing. Mariah looked from Rebekah back to Joy again. “Do you think you can make it to the museum?” she asked softly. Then, when Seichi came in announcing James’s arrival, Mariah spun around to face Seichi with wide eyes. “Where?” she asked. She had mixed feelings about this...the last time she had seen him, he was angry with her for loving Joy more than him. But on the other hand, Joy wanted to talk to him, and she hoped James would be willing to if only for Joy’s sanity. ------------------------------------------------------------ “Nice place...” Alexis said casually, making herself sound less impressed than she actually was. She went up into the bathroom Scott had told her about, undressed, and examined herself in the mirror. The left side of her face was slightly swollen, and there was something like a large welt on her stomach. And there was the burn on her arm. She started shaking and screamed in rage. How could that idiot do this to her? If these marks didn’t go away soon, Felix was going to die slowly...very slowly. She settled herself in the tub and relaxed the for a long time, imagining different scenarios in which she tortured Felix to death. She eventually got out and found the clothes that Scott had bought for her. Her eyes went wide and she gasped. All designer brands, and just the kinds of things she like to wear. She picked out a punky mini skirt with leather leggings to go underneath, a spaghetti-strapped crop top, and a leather jacket very much like the one she had before...all black, of course. She then went back downstairs to where Scott had instructed her to go. “So...what’s the plan here?” she asked. ------------------------------------------------------------ Troy took Keilani’s hand and guided her to a place where they could be alone...and as far from all the bodies as they could get. They found a corner of the museum with gorgeous landscape paintings, and for several minutes all they did was sit in silence, Troy still holding her close, and Keilani resting her head against his shoulder with her eyes closed. He started to think that she had fallen asleep, and began playing with her hair, mesmerized by how silky it felt in his hand. He kissed the top of her head and leaned his cheek on it, gazing at the paintings and trying to think of a better way to comfort her. Seeing her like this...was unbearable. “So you destroyed the χ-blade?” Keilani asked, breaking the long silence. This startled Troy a little, and he stopped playing with Keilani’s hair, a little embarrassed that she had been awake this whole time. He reached out with his free hand and summoned the weapon. “Nope,” he replied quietly. “But Ven...he shared his heart with me. It was amazing, Keilani. Not being a Nobody, of course. But being saved from that. Regaining all I had lost when I lost my heart...I guess you just can’t fully appreciate it until it’s gone.” He was speaking almost to himself now. Keilani put both her arms around him and buried her face in his shirt. “Thanks, Ven,” she whispered. Troy smiled a little, and then his heart started beating faster as a thought came into his head. He had to say it. He never knew when the next terrible thing could happen, or how permanent it could be. Though he was nervous, he had to say it now while he had the chance. He swallowed, set the χ-blade down, and cupped his hand under her chin, gently tilting her head up until their eyes met. “I love you,” he told her. Keilani finally smiled a little as well, and the sight of it caused his breath to catch for the briefest moment. “I love you, too,” she said. Troy leaned in and kissed her softly, savoring the love he felt for her and from her.

Keilani shook her head and spoke in a strained voice. “No...don’t worry about it. You hated Alexis for what she did...” She remembered all the dead bodies and a tear escaped. “And you couldn’t think of anything else. Of course I’ll forgive you, Felix.” Even though she wasn’t angry with him, she was still extremely shaken and couldn’t breathe steadily. She was staring down and clenching her fists when the door opened...and Troy stepped through. His face switched between several different emotions in and a couple seconds--relief, happiness, confusion, and finally concern. He ran over to her with wide eyes and held her close to him for the longest time. “Keilani...what happened to you?” Keilani was now a crazy mixture of emotions as well. Troy had finally gotten his heart back, and she was in his arms again--he cared about her once more. She had been thinking it would never come to be. But there was still the image of the corpses in her head, as well as the memory of the helpless feeling as she had almost been led to her death. She tried to say something to Troy, anything, but all that came out were sobs. She buried her face in his chest as she cried into it. Troy kept his arms around her, with one hand on her back, and one caressing her hair. It felt wonderful to hold her like this again, to be in love with her again, but it also tore him up inside to see her in this state. He looked up at Felix curiously, but decided for the moment not to ask him about it. Something told him that it wouldn’t be a good idea to discuss the subject in front of Keilani right now. “Hey guys, why don’t we get out of here? Get to some place that’s a bit more...peaceful?” he suggested softly to both of them. He then looked over at Alex. “Um...I don’t know. But maybe we could talk about this later?” He said, hoping that Alex would get the message. ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis’s eyes widened as Scott kissed her. That was something she hadn’t seen coming. She didn’t try to pull away, though--she just stood there until he was finished. “Y-yeah.” She cleared her throat to make her voice sound less astonished. “So let’s go!” she said in a more annoyed tone. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ethan walked up to the front of the art museum. Weird...I thought you had sensed her here just a moment ago, he thought to Hades. You know, I don’t think your superior, godly powers are sounding too superior and godly today. “Shut up, small fry!” Hades growled. “Well, look who we have here. That kid’s Inhabited by the flake who’s afraid of the darkness. Let’s pulverize him!” Ethan focused on the guy Hades was talking about (Jayson). He appeared to be standing guard in front of the building. No way, man, I’m not picking a fight just because of someone who bruised your ego! I’ve got better things to do! But are you sure she’s not in there? “Of course I’m sure! She was there, and now she’s not. Probably used one of those corridors to get out fast. Why does it matter so much, anyway? There are plenty of chicks in this city, and much more mentally stable than that Lex of yours. Just pick one!” Ethan paused. Why did it matter? It was because of the plan they’d had...with James. She needed to be located so that she could get James to release Sephiroth and then wreak havoc on the “good” Inhabiters. And that was the only reason. Ethan wouldn’t allow himself to think about it further. Alright, let’s get out of here. He started walking down the street quickly.

“Only that you were a no-good son of a bitch,” Alexis replied venomously. “I was trying to save my own skin because I figured I didn’t have an ally left in the world.” She grabbed some fruit as Scott had instructed. “So prove me wrong!” ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani gasped and sat up, realizing how close to death she had just come, and squeezing her eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling over. She focused only on breathing for a short moment, and composed herself just enough to give Felix an explanation. “I...she...” She swallowed. “Scott tricked me. He...had me go to this hotel, and the next thing I knew, we ended up here, and he switched Alexis out with me.” She wondered why Felix had been on the verge of killing Alexis, but she didn’t feel like asking about it right now. And he hoped he wouldn’t ask her anymore questions for the moment, because she probably wouldn’t be able to answer without breaking down. ------------------------------------------------------------ Troy ended up right at the window he had entered through when he started fighting Scott and Alexis. “So she’s here?” “Yeah, positive. And I can sense Axel, too.” “Alright, lead the way.” Ven started guiding him to where Felix and Keilani were in the building.

Alexis’s eyes grew wide when Felix announced he was going to finish her off. She couldn’t die this way. She couldn’t. It would be humiliating, being offed so easily by a loser like that. She started struggling against the straps, and the next moment, Scott was there...with Keilani. He freed her and put Keilani in her place in a flash, and as soon as he had taken her back to the hotel room, she slapped his face with her free hand. “What the hell was that, you bastard?! Leaving me alone with that psycho! I almost died!” she screamed. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani struggled against Scott as he grabbed her and strapped her to the stretcher, but he was too strong. The girl she saw...that was Paige, wasn’t it? But Scott was calling her Alexis. Apparantly, Paige wasn’t who she had claimed to be. And then there was the matter of all the dead bodies sprawled everywhere on the floor...and the blood that now covered her wig. She closed her eyes, trying to block it all out, when she heard someone approaching. She opened her eyes, expecting...she wasn’t sure what to expect, but she felt relief for a fleeting moment. Felix! she thought. But it was as if he didn’t recognize her--he had a cold look on his face. He threw a table cloth over her and started wheeling her somewhere, and she got a very bad feeling. The fact that she couldn't see where they were headed just made it worse. She tried to scream for Felix to stop, tried to tell him she wasn’t Alexis, but Scott had tied the bandana around her so tightly that she couldn’t speak. Her heart raced, and she just hoped that Felix would recognize her before something terrible happened. ------------------------------------------------------------ “Hey, I think she’s nearby!” Ven told his host excitedly. “Somewhere around that museum we were at just last night...what would she be doing there?” Troy shook his head. “Whatever it is, I don’t like it. Let’s get to her fast.” He sped up his glider and flew towards the street where the museum was located.

“Hell if I know where he is. Last I saw him, there wasn’t anyone with him except some chick,” Alexis lied. “He was fighting against a guy named Avan. He and Scott separated because Scott faked his own death. So can I go now?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani swallowed. Knowing Scott, she was well aware that she may not get out of this alive either way. She just hoped Troy was alright. She obediently put on the bandana, wig, and perfume, thinking how ridiculous she must look. “There, happy? So who is this Alexis, and why does it matter so much that I tell your little made-up story to the ‘other boy?’ You sound like...well, a fifteen-year-old girl.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Troy had looked everywhere around the hospital, but he still couldn’t find Keilani. He was getting nervous now, because no one had said anything to him about having found her, either. He checked the main lobby one more time, and when he still didn’t see her, he rode the elevator up to the highest floor he could get to, then ran up to the rooftop. He got on his Keyblade Glider and started flying over the streets, and Ven helped him out by trying to sense Naminé.

Victoria Grayson from Revenge.

Alexis groaned just the tiniest bit as Felix burned her arm just before letting go of it. “Well, obviously he’s the kind of guy who would leave me for dead, or else I wouldn’t be here right now,” she retorted. “And I think that answers your question of how close he and I are. How trained is he? I assume he’s had quite a bit of training--he’s deadly, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been trained since childhood. I don’t even know him that well. As for other ‘bad guys like me...’ well, I’d say that term is pretty subjective. Define ‘bad guy’ for me.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani’s stomach dropped the instant she saw Scott, and every muscle in her body tensed in fear and anger. She thought of screaming for help, but he would probably just end up pointing that stupid scythe at her. She glared up at him as he spoke to her, mystified as to the reason behind the crude disguise. But what was really shocking was the fact that he was even here. Why was he here? It should’ve been Troy on the other side of that door. Troy was the one who had told her to come here. Unless... “You were the one who texted me...from Troy’s phone.” She jerked her shoulder away from his hand and turned to face him straight on. “Where’s Troy? What did you do to him?!” she demanded. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah eagerly followed Callum into Joy’s room, hurried over to Joy, and grasped his hand. “Joy...are you okay?” she asked softly. ------------------------------------------------------------ Once he had caught his breath, Troy stood up slowly and rubbed his eyes. A tear had spilled over from one of them. On a normal day, Troy would have detested that tear and instantly rubbed it off his face, hoping that no one had seen it, but today was far from normal. Today, it felt amazing on his cheek. He could actually feel again. He had never known such a wonderful sensation in all his life. He then started to think of his friends, and remembered what had happened just before this: the fight with Paige and Scott. He didn’t remember at what point he had been knocked out, but the next thing he knew, Rebekah had brought him here. He decided to go look for everyone else, eager to see Rebekah and Felix...and Keilani, most of all. He found Rebekah and Tudi just outside Joy’s room. “Hey!” he said, grinning from ear to ear and waving. “What’s up? Do you know where Keilani is?” Rebekah immediately looked at the place where Keilani had been sitting and frowned when she found it empty. “Um...no, I don’t. She was over there a while ago, but I haven’t seen her recently. “I’m sure she’s around her somewhere, though.” Troy nodded, hiding his disappointment. “And Felix?” “He’s...taking care of some business right now. Doesn’t want to be bothered,” Rebekah said hesitantly. “Troy...why are you smiling so much?” “Long story.” He looked over at Tudi, who appeared depressed. Seeing the scars covering her left side, he felt bad for her, but maybe it would be best for him to pretend not to notice. Besides, scars or not, Tudi was a great girl, and they were all lucky to have her on their team. “Hey, why the long face?” he asked her, clapping his hand over her good shoulder. “Cheer up!” He then addressed both Rebekah and Tudi. “Well, I think I’m going to track Keilani down. Let me know if you see her!” He started walking quickly down the hall, scanning each open door he passed.

Alexis turned her cheek as Felix hit her in the face so that he only hit the left side...it was better than being hit right in the nose. She wouldn’t allow him the satisfaction of seeing her in pain...she only wore an expression of rage. “Fine! I’m Alexis! Geez, what’s so important about my name, anyway?” When he started to ignite her arm, she spoke to him in a strained voice through clenched teeth. “I swear, scar my skin and you’ll pay...” She sent a current through her body which she hoped would shock Felix. Not enough to kill him, because if he died then there was absolutely no way she was getting out of these restraints. But enough to make him think twice before touching her again. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ethan growled in frustration. Why was he surprised that Scott was acting like this? There was one thing that especially bugged him, though; Scott had mentioned something about “defending Alexis’s honor.” What did that mean? The last time Scott had seen Lex should have been just before he plunged into the ocean. Unless...he had run into her since then. Ethan decided to hunt for her in the area. Wherever she was, James would probably end up as well, and the three of them would be one big happy family again. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani awoke to a knock at the door. The sun appeared to just be coming up outside the window, and she smiled. She ran to the door, expecting to see Troy, then found someone from room service bringing her breakfast. She hid her disappointment as she accepted the tray and walked back into the room. There appeared to be enough food for two people, so maybe Troy would arrive soon. Keilani wondered what could be taking him so long. She took a bite of pancakes, hoping that Troy wouldn’t mind if she started without him. As soon as she finished the first bite, she heard another knock at the door. “Finally!” she said, running to the door once again. “Wait, Keilani!” Naminé cried just as Keilani opened the door. Too late. ------------------------------------------------------------ Troy stood alone on a translucent platform in his Dive to the Heart. As he stared down at the platform, he felt like he was staring into nothingness. He felt heavy...no, that wasn’t it. He felt nothing at all. Was that a bad thing? Maybe he wouldn’t mind staying here for the remainder of his days. He could no longer seem to find any purpose in his life. There was nothing left of him. Would anyone miss him? Probably not. Who could miss a Nobody? He tried to think of his friends...but he didn’t miss them at all. That was a bad thing, wasn’t it? But he didn’t care anymore. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to. “Troy...” Troy’s head jerked up, and Ventus was standing right before him. His eyes grew wide. “Ven...where are we?” “This is your heart. Or, what’s left of it at least, which is basically an empty shell. But soon it won’t be. Troy, I’m going to share my heart with you, as someone once did for me when I was in a state very much like the one you’re in. After all, that’s what friends are for.” He smiled and closed his eyes. His chest appeared to shimmer with a white light, and Troy’s did the same. The platform started shimmering as well, and suddenly, Troy gasped as if he had been unable to draw breath for a long time. The emotions hit him in a torrent--the emotions that he should have been feeling all this time, but was unable to. Happiness at reuniting with his friends after the battle with Vanitas, fear of Scott and the girl who had killed dozens of people in the museum, longing for Keilani... He wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. When he looked down, the blank, translucent platform and transformed into an image of him and Ven side-by-side. “Thank-you...Ven... I’ll never forget this.” Ven shrugged, casually and modestly. “Don’t mention it,” he said with a grin. “And don’t worry, we’re still going to do everything we can to get your heart back. But I figured this was the least I could do in the meantime...” All at once, everything faded to black, and Troy woke up in a chair in the hospital, holding a hand to his chest and breathing heavily.

“That was three ‘first questions,’ but alright,” Alexis replied. “Paige, 23 years old. Cold-hearted animal? What makes you think that?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Ethan took a moment to process what he had just heard. Scott’s voice. The guy was Scott, and he was alive. “Damn...what is he up to?!” Ethan wondered aloud, scratching the back of his head. He saw an image of several explosions on his TV out of the corner of his eye, as well as a few familiar faces... There was a rerun of a story from earlier that day...a strange gang fight in the streets of Chicago, with dark fire falling out of the sky? Yeah, those had to be Inhabiters. And wherever there was a large group of Inhabiters, Scott was likely to be nearby. With that in mind, Ethan stood up and teleported himself to Chicago, ending up right outside a Denny’s restaurant. He decided he would head in and ask a cute waitress there whether she had seen a haughty man with green hair and impeccable taste in clothing walking around town. Just before he executed this plan, however, he saw Scott coming in his direction. “It seems like we’re just destined to run into each other,” Ethan muttered, approaching Scott. “Well, well, well, you son of a bitch. Guess I should’ve known you wouldn’t die that easily. So what do you have planned this time?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Mariah glanced at Elie and smiled at her understandingly as she waited for Callum's answer. ------------------------------------------------------------ “Tudi...” Rebekah said. One thing she was not good at was cheering others up. That was a better job for Mariah, the one who wasn't generally awkward with people. “Hey, it's a battle scar! I mean, how many people can say that they helped fight and win against a crazy armored guy who was shooting fire at them? You've got proof of it!” She hoped comment that worked, or at least that it didn't make Tudi feel even worse.

Alexis felt a sharp pain in her stomach, and she jolted awake, disoriented and coughing. She focused on her attacker and tried to lunge at him...but she was tied down. Where was Scott? Ditched her, of course. “I told you you shouldn’t have trusted him,” Larxene nagged. If she could have, Alexis would have torn out her Inhabiter’s throat. Instead, she clenched her jaw and glared at Felix. “I hope this doesn’t make your girlfriend jealous.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani stepped into the room the rest of the way and admired its large size. “Wow...I’ve never been in such a fancy hotel before! How much money does Felix have, anyway?” she giggled, then ran to one of the large beds and jumped right into the middle of it. “Good night, Naminé!” She fell asleep once again, this time sleeping peacefully, knowing that she would see Troy when she woke up. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ethan teleported away from James, leaving his question hanging in the air. This was the real test to see if James actually loved Alexis...if she had reeled him in enough. He went back to his regular apartment and kicked back, turning on the television. The familiar surroundings were relaxing after all the shenanigans he had been involved in. Moments after he had situated himself on the couch, he heard his phone ringing. “Ahhh...don’t I ever get a break?” He looked at the number that was calling him. Unknown, of course. He sighed and answered it. “And who is it that has the pleasure of speaking with one such as myself?”

Keilani woke up after a fairly restless sleep, having dreamt of Troy and the χ-blade...in that dream, they found that no matter what they tried, there was no way possible to destroy the horrible weapon, and Troy would be a Nobody forever. Keilani shuddered and got up, slipping quietly past everyone who remained at the hospital, and went to Felix’s room, which was now empty. She wondered how Felix had managed to get out of that awful body cast, but then shrugged and went into the bathroom to shower. After she had finished and gotten dressed again, she noticed a text from Troy. She gasped at the second to last sentence. “Naminé...do you think that could mean...?” she whispered. “Well, I would think so, but it seems a little strange. If he was no longer a Nobody, why wouldn’t he tell you personally?” “Maybe he wants to tell me about it personally, and that’s why he put that message in the text...as kind of a hint.” Keilani giggled at the idea. “And then he’ll tell me all about it when we get there.” She looked up the location of 10th Street on her phone. “Okay, Naminé, show me how to open a Corridor of Darkness.” “Are you sure you want to do that?” “Positive! I’m not scared of those things! Besides, I’m not walking the Chicago streets by myself at night, and I don’t want to wait around for everyone else to come. If Troy wants to talk to me, we’ll need some alone time.” “Alright...” Naminé instructed her host on how to summon the portal, and after a couple tries, Keilani got it. When she opened the Corridor successfully, she had the slightest moment’s hesitation, creeped out by the pure darkness in front of her. But she couldn’t be a chicken now, not after telling Naminé how unafraid she was. She stepped through and briefly had the sensation of a cold wind blowing straight through her, and the next instant, she was just outside the hotel Troy had told her about. She closed the Corridor quickly so that no passersby would see it, then entered the lobby and went up to the tired-looking clerk at the front desk. “Hey, did someone named Troy check in to room 666?” “Yes...are you Keilani? Troy asked me to give this key to you.” The clerk was giving her a strange look as she handed Keilani a card key. “That’s me!” Keilani said brightly, pointing to herself. “Awesome, thanks!” She grabbed the card key and practically ran to the elevator, then sprinted to room 666 after she reached the sixth floor, stopping at the door. “Hm, I don’t sense anyone in there. Troy must still be out,” Naminé observed. Keilani felt a twinge of disappointment, then shrugged. Well, maybe I can get some real sleep before he gets back. I’m betting this place has way comfortable beds. She slid the card key in the slot and unlocked the door, then stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah nodded at Felix a little nervously, not quite sure what to think of what he was implying when he said “illegal” and “messy.” She decided not the think about it at all. What had to be done, had to be done. She would just make sure not to be around for it. She picked Troy up and carried him on her back through the Corridor that Felix had opened. Troy was conscious long enough to feel Rebekah picking him up. He knew he should feel bad for making a girl who was smaller than him carry him on her back, but all he could think about was the overwhelming desire to sleep more...and he gave in. Once Rebekah was back in the hospital room, she propped Troy up in the chair next to the stretcher, then rolled the stretcher through the dark portal as Felix had instructed. “There you go, Felix!” she called. She then checked on Troy one more time to make sure he would be alright, and walked out to where Mariah and Callum were talking. Once they were finished with their conversation, she would let everyone know about the situation at the museum. She didn’t mind waiting a little while, though. She didn’t want to accidentally walk in on the middle of the interrogation. She got her phone out and texted Felix: ‘Let me know once you’re ready for everyone to come over.’ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glum-looking Tudi who was just exiting Joy’s room. The poor girl was severely burned, probably permanently. “Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked, although the answer was probably obvious.

I have to say, the combination of your comment with your avatar is just brilliant. People always make bad puns when talking to me on this forum. Ha...ha...ha...

Alexis turned around to look behind her just a moment too late, and Felix’s foot came into contact with her forehead. On top of the blow to her head, she felt like her neck might snap from the force. She fell backward and hit her head on the floor, and everything went black. Rebekah ran up to Troy and grabbed his shoulders. “Hey...Troy! Troy, are you okay?” Troy groaned in response, and his eyes fluttered open a little. “Rebekah...? What happened?” he mumbled. He had no idea where he was or what he had been doing just a few minutes before, but what he did know for sure was that all he wanted was to go back to sleep.

I love the polls! There was once a time when the Poll of the Day was the subforum I was most active in.

Alexis dodged Felix’s chakrams gracefully. “So it is Axel...” Larxene mused. “I don’t know whether to kiss the guy’s cheek or decorate it with my knives...I think I’ll go with the latter.” She started to charge at Felix just as Scott was yelling to her, and she hesitated. He was right--as skilled as they were at fighting, it wouldn’t help much if they became horribly outnumbered. “Well then, catch you all later!” Alexis called, waving tauntingly and running after Scott. Rebekah jumped to her feet and shot Blizzara at Alexis, grazing her side. Alexis stumbled a little, holding her hand to the place where she had been hit and hissing through her teeth.

(Haha you're fine, don't feel bad. )

(@Yuffie: Oh, actually Mariah hasn't been in Joy's room yet since the doctors said that only family can go see him, so that's why she wouldn't have seen Tudi. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough about that. And I can still have Mariah acknowledge her as Tudi is walking out of Joy's room, but right now she's talking to Callum, as Callum exited Joy's room in order to ask Mariah a question.) When more people came in, Alexis dropped the unconscious Troy as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. She glared at Felix, Rebekah, and Jayson. Well, so much for the Paige facade. Rebekah nodded at Jayson on the way up the stairs, too distressed about hearing that Troy and Ven were in danger to say anything to him. She reached the top of the stairs and saw Alexis aiming Larxene’s knives at Troy’s throat, then letting go of Troy. “Paige? What did you do to Troy?!” Aqua demanded furiously through her host. “Wait...Maleficent’s not the one Inhabiting you, is she?” “That’s correct,” Larxene responded. “My name is Larxene, and I have no idea who you are, nor do I care. As for little Troy here, I was just trying to do everyone a favor and rid the world of yet another Sora copy. But I guess that’ll have to wait now. I don’t understand how he’s so popular among all of you.” She gave control back to Alexis, who lunged at Aqua. Aqua also gave control back to her host, who charged at her opponent with equal force using Barrier Surge. They were both thrown back after hitting each other, and landed a few feet apart again. Rebekah slashed at Alexis, who easily dodged the attack and kicked Rebekah to the floor. At that moment, she heard someone running up behind her, and she knew it wasn’t Scott. She warped out of the way so that whoever it was (Felix) would land on Rebekah instead.

Troy was so busy using all his remaining strength to block Alexis’s slashes that he didn’t even notice the scythe coming at him. He felt his feet fly out from underneath him, and his head smacked hard against the floor. He immediately lost consciousness from the impact. “Wow...I’ve got to give it to him, that’s one tough kid,” Alexis remarked breathlessly. She grabbed the collar of his shirt to make sure he had really blacked out, then pointed her knives at his throat, ready to kill him. “You know him?” she asked Scott. “I don’t see any reason to keep him around.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah stayed behind Felix as he had requested and followed him up the stairway cautiously. When he brought out his chakrams, she followed suit by summoning her Keyblade. She heard someone screaming in pain...the boy’s voice sounded familiar... “Ven!” Aqua cried out desperately. “Hurry, Rebekah, we’ve got to help him!”

Rebekah followed Felix out the door and took another look at the front doors of the museum as they exited the restaurant. The place was still illuminated--the ball was probably going late. “Rebekah...I think Terra’s in there...” Aqua said, her voice mystified. Really? I wonder what he would be doing there? she thought. “Um, Felix, Aqua’s telling me that Jayson’s in that museum. Do you want to see what’s going on?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Troy managed to avoid most of the blows Scott attempted to land on him, but one struck him painfully between the shoulder blades. He then noticed that Scott had teleported outside so that he could catch Alexis...which wouldn't be good, because at that point they would both be as good as gone. Just before Alexis went crashing through the window, Troy leaped up and struck her in the stomach, sending her straight back to the floor. Alexis groaned and got up, warped behind Troy, and slashed at him relentlessly. “Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!” Troy yelled. Ven...I don’t think I can hold out much longer...

Rebekah got up and walked around her chair. She then put her arms around Felix’s neck and kissed his lips, not caring who was watching at the moment. When she realized what she was doing, she blushed brightly and pulled her lips away from his. “Um...wow. That’s probably the boldest thing I’ve ever done in public. And I know that’s not saying much...” ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis gave up on attacking Troy for the moment, growling. She knew he couldn’t keep that barrier up for long. When Scott attacked him, he was unaffected by the first blow, but the second blow cracked the barrier, and the third hit him with full force, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He stumbled and fell to the ground, then used Collision Magnet and picked Alexis up off the ground. Alexis struggled against the spell but couldn’t get free, and then she felt herself flying at Scott. The glow around Troy became even brighter, and he was able to start moving faster. The light around his weapon seemed to extend the blade to twice its length, and he felt stronger and was able to move even faster. “Wingblade... We’ve still got a chance,” Ven said, sounding both tired and relieved, but still plenty determined. Troy rushed at the two again, swinging the χ-blade at both of them.

“Yeah, let’s get going,” Rebekah said with a smile. “Thanks so much, Felix. This was a wonderful first date.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis was getting angrier by the second. She shot a concentrated bolt of lightning at Troy as Scott warped behind him. Troy was able to avoid Scott’s scythe as it came at him from the front, but he couldn’t quite get away from the bolt of lightning. It struck his jaw, and for an instant he thought his teeth would shatter. Alexis came at him again, shooting smaller bursts of lightning at him in close range, and he reflected them with Reflega, causing Alexis’s own attacks to get the better of her. He didn’t have time to notice Scott behind him.

(Yeah, could it stay open, Number XV? I just figure it would give Mariah something to do, because I haven't been able to post a whole lot about her lately. ) The sound of James’s name hit Mariah with a force she didn’t quite expect. She shook her head. “I have no idea. The last time I saw him was in the forest...” She couldn’t even remember exactly when he had left. “Why do you ask?” ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah laughed again. Though she had been extremely hungry, she was only able to finish half of the dish she ordered. “Don’t worry, I think a lot of them would love to have a good breadstick...or three. So are you sure you’re feeling better? One moment I’m leaving you at a hospital in full body cast, and the next you’re carrying me to a fancy restaurant.” She made sure to say this part a little quieter so that the other people in the restaurant wouldn’t hear. “I hope you’re not overexerting yourself.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Troy was hit from the side by Scott, and he groaned. Alexis also lunged at him again, and he had to react quickly through the pain. He slid at both of them with Fire Dash, hitting Alexis’s leg.

(Okay, everyone, I will be controlling Troy until Not-with-a-whimper gets back. @Number XV: Sorry, I'm a little confused. Is the Corridor of Darkness still open, or did it close when Callum went through it? @Yuffie: LOL were you going to have Elie respond to Mariah?) Rebekah wondered what Felix had muttered to himself, but she became distracted when the waiter arrived. “Wow...we’re going to have a lot of leftovers to carry back to the others once we’re done here. That...is your plan, right? Or do you have some kind of superhumanly fast metabolism?” she laughed. ------------------------------------------------------------ “Whoa!” Troy shouted. He held up the χ-blade and reflected Larxene’s attack just in time. However, the force of it still nearly knocked him over, and he slid back a small distance, somehow managing to stay on his feet. This girl was fast. “Alright, my turn!” He swung his weapon at her with Blizzard Edge, hitting her left arm. Larxene gritted her teeth from the icy pain and leaped back, her ego bruised from being hit so easily and so early on in the battle. “Ah, I’d almost forgotten how worthy an opponent you actually are, Sora! But I promise you, I’ll be the winner of this fight!” “My name is not Sora or Roxas! It’s Ventus!” Ventus spoke through Troy, going in for another attack. “My bad. It’s just so hard to keep track,” Larxene replied melodramatically. She warped behind Ven and slashed at him several times with her knives. Troy regained control of his body as the knives were cutting through his skin. He tried to get away, but she was too fast for him, blocking him no matter where he tried to go, and the slashing was ceaseless. All Troy could do was try to block her attacks, but then there was an instant in which Larxene had the slightest moment’s hesitation, as if she needed to catch her breath. Without much thought, Troy swung the χ-blade at almost the exact spot where he had hit Larxene before, and Larxene let out a piercing shriek. Suddenly, he felt himself lift off the ground just a little, and time appeared to slow down around him. Or was he getting faster...? There was a soft, white glow around himself and his weapon. “Awww yeah!” Ven said. “Fever Pitch!” Troy grinned with the same confidence and determination he could hear in his Inhabiter’s voice, almost unaware that he was only imitating the emotions, and he ran at Larxene again with incredible speed, hitting her several times. “ENOUGH!!” Alexis screamed, now back in control. She hurled Thundaga at her opponent, shocking him and throwing him off balance for just a moment. He was able to recover quickly, though, and charged at her again.

I always tell my friends who are experiencing the series for the first time to play the games in the order they came out. Like several others in this thread have said, that's the order in which they were meant to be experienced. Playing the games in chronological order would be like watching Star Wars in chronological order. Just...no... As for skipping any of the games...it really depends on how much your friend loves the series. If he's head-over-heels for the series, don't tell him to skip any of them. If he thinks it's cool but isn't passionately in love with it, the only game I think that's appropriate to skip would be Re:coded...just have him watch the ending and the secret ending, and he'll be good. And I guess he could also skip CoM as long as he plays Re:CoM, but I'm not really counting remakes/originals here. That's just my opinion.