Always

(Pahahaha it actually took me a few minutes to catch the pun. ) Rebekah saw Felix return and ran over to him, surprised at his behavior. “Felix, what is your prob—?” She then smelled the alcohol on him. “You're drunk? Really?!” she said angrily. She got in front of Felix so that she could readily defend him if their opponent tried to attack him, knowing that his reaction time was now slowed, and shot Firaga Burst at the armored man.

(DAMION!!!!! *cries tears of joy and hugs you* It's awesome to finally have you back! I'm sorry to hear that things have been seemingly rough for you though. Good luck with BT and all that!) (^This made me laugh so hard. ) “Mmm, Hades? Very interesting,” Alexis said. She sighed as the temperature of the water rose. “As for the 'do-gooders' you're speaking of, Larxene's been pestering me about them off and on, but I've had better things to do than waste my time with them thus far, and I don't think they've even noticed me yet. What, they've been giving you trouble?” She dug two of her fingers into a bruise on Ethan's ribs. When another man appeared behind them, she let out a disgusted sigh and turned to glare at him. “Excuse me, but who are you and what do you want? You're crashing a private party here.” ----------------------------------------------------------- As soon as the kiss had ended, Mariah was completely shocked when Elie came over and kissed Joy. She couldn't even speak as her brain worked to process what was going on. Cloud took control of Joy to make the whole situation a little less awkward, as he had the feeling that it was Aerith who was making Elie kiss Joy. Cloud kissed her back briefly, unable to help himself, then pulled away gently, his face turning slightly red. “Um, sorry, but I don't think now's the best time,” he said. He felt bad telling her that, but he also felt bad for Tifa, and was completely torn between the two of them. This was all getting way too complicated. Mariah and Tifa stood there watching in confusion. Both felt jealousy rising up in them, but Tifa even more so, as she also knew it was probably Aerith who initiated the kiss. ------------------------------------------------------------ Rebekah watched as Felix fled the battleground, hoping he was alright. She then glared up at the armored man and shot Triple Firaga at him. (Number XV, I hope I'm conveying Joy and Cloud's current feelings correctly. Sorry if my post about them is inaccurate in any way!)

Mariah put both her hands on Joy's face and kissed him back, closing her eyes as the tears started spilling over again. It had been such a long time since they last kissed each other, and the feeling it brought to her now, on top of finding out that he still cared for her, was euphoric. She heard James sigh, but she was so happy to be back with Joy again that she wouldn't let anything ruin the moment. ------------------------------------------------------------ Alexis opened her eyes and looked at Ethan again, her lips twisting into something between a grin and a grimace. “Oooooh, so it's you,” she said. “Oh, Ethan, you know you can still call me Lexi, or even Lex, if you like. My Inhabiter? Larxene. As for how I've been using her power, well, let's just say my mother wouldn't exactly approve, if she was even around anymore. It's been rather fun, though, being able to manipulate electricity.” She placed the tip of her middle finger at the top of Ethan's spine and sent a very mild electrical current through it that would only tickle him. “So, tell me about your Inhabiter. You wouldn't be asking about mine if you weren't in the same situation as me.”

“Hey, it's not like I've stayed the same either since last year,” Mariah responded to Joy in a hollow voice. She could hear in Joy's voice that he was crying, but she wasn't going to let it cause her to fall apart just yet. She then looked at James. She was angry with him for telling Joy that her feelings for him had just been based on their Inhabiters even though she had tried to explain that it wasn't, but she didn't allow her face to show her anger. “I forgive you for the situation with Sephiroth,” she said slowly. “It was beyond your control.” She walked around Joy so that she was facing him, knelt down in front of him, and lifted his chin so that he was forced to look at her. “Just tell me you don't want me. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want me, and I'll leave you alone from here on out.” She held her breath as she waited for his answer. ----------------------------------------------------------- Keilani blushed as well when she realized why Troy's face had reddened. Before she could answer him, he was out of the bus and going into the fight. She decided to stay behind and keep watch so that she would be ready to heal someone if they needed it. Her going out to fight like the rest of them probably wouldn't do anyone any good, as she still had hardly any offensive skill. ----------------------------------------------------------- Alexis removed the towel that was wrapped around her, revealing a string bikini underneath, and got into the hot tub with the raven-haired man. Her own long hair of the same color flowed everywhere as it came into contact with the water. “Alexis,” she said. “You recognize me, huh? I think I know you from somewhere too, but remind me of your name.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as she settled in, only half-caring to hear his response.

“Mariah!” Tifa's voice broke through. “Joy and James are about to fight! You have to stop them!” Why? Mariah thought numbly. “Because I don't think James is going to fight back. He wants Joy to kill him!” I thought you were going to kill James anyway. Why do you care? “Look, Mariah, I know you still care about James. If you don't do something now, I know that you'll end up taking his death on your shoulders. I'm not saying you'll be choosing James over Joy, but you won't be able to live with yourself if you don't try to save his life.” She realized that Tifa was right and scrambled to her feet. She ran out into the open and got between Joy and James. “Stop it, both of you!” she begged.

Mariah woke up hearing James and Joy having a heated discussion, with James claiming that she had only loved Joy because of Tifa and Cloud's relationship, another boy telling Joy that she was gone, and Joy...ultimately rejecting her. She exhaled sharply as if she had been pounded in the chest, and was overwhelmed with numbness. She stared blankly at the green canopy above her and thought, Well, I guess that answers my question of whether Joy actually cares for me. James's countering words caught her attention. But he still does, she thought. I could be happy with him—I still love him, after all. But if Joy crosses my mind every time I kiss James, then where would we be? No, I can't live with that shame. Even if I don't tell James about it, I'll still feel like I'm hurting him every day. I can't do that to him. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes as the tears rolled down her face, staying silent so no one would know she was awake. She stopped listening to the conversation at that point.

(Wait, what do you mean about Mariah being gone? LOL she's just unconscious right now. Unless Vanitas is trying to mess with Joy's head?)

Sure, as long as it's safe and doesn't cost me my entire life-savings and some. I would love to go!

As soon as the bus stopped, Rebekah jumped out and ran a few yards, then stopped, because she had no idea where her cousin might be. Aqua, you can sense Mariah's Inhabiter, right? she thought. “Yes, she's nearby—” Before Aqua could tell Rebekah where Mariah was, the bus was assaulted by dozens of swords. Rebekah gasped and hoped everyone was alright, then turned to see the armored man who had thrown the swords. “You again? Get lost!” she cried, summoning her Keyblade. ----------------------------------------------------------- Keilani, who wasn't out of the bus yet, screamed when she saw one of the swords flying towards the window right by her and Troy. She grabbed his jacket and pulled him down to the floor along with her as the sword shattered the window and caused pieces of glass to rain down on top of them. When it was over, she opened her eyes and looked at Troy. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Name: Alexis Canter (Sometimes goes by Lexi) Appearance: http://www.uimages.o...-black-hair.jpg Inhabiter: Larxene Weapon: Foudre Personality: Very much like Larxene's—cruel and manipulative, if not twisted. She has no problem making other people suffer—almost takes pleasure in it, in fact—and will do whatever's necessary to get what she's after. However, since she and Larxene have near-identical personalities, they tend to butt heads with one another from time to time. Age: 21 Height/Weight: 5'10”/133 lbs. Not-with-a-whimper, I understand that you expressed interest in creating a female character for yourself, and if you were thinking about using Larxene, I'd like to sincerely beg your forgiveness. But I've actually been wanting to control a Larxene character from the very beginning of this RP, and I can no longer resist.

(Yup! It was when I was controlling Elie.)

(No problem! Haha I hope I didn't ruin your characters or anything. But were you going to have Aerith/Elie respond to James?)

Yes, it is too bad you can't share. I'm jealous of you. T_T

It never really impacted my opinion of Sony either way. I was like eh, whatever.

Aerith turned to the woman in surprise, her face turning slightly red. Somehow she got the impression that telling the truth about her feelings for Zack could get her in trouble in this situation. “Oh! Um, what makes you say that? I'm Aerith, by the way, currently Inhabiting Elie. Sorry, what was your name?” Before she could wait for an answer, she noticed James running in their direction. “Hold that thought.” She held her rod out in front of her and pointed it at James, ready to fight. “Hey! You might just want to turn around and run the other way right now. I'm not afraid to hurt you if I have to!” she said fiercely.

(Hey guys, I'll probably be gone for the next several hours. I give Not-with-a-whimper, Damion, Number XV, and Azure Flame permission to control my characters, if you want to. The only thing I ask is that you don't kill them. )

(I guess I'll control Elie as well until Yuffie gets back.) Mariah’s throat went dry. So this was Cain’s follower. Between him and Sephiroth...oh, she was so dead. Then Avan summoned a Corridor of Darkness behind her and told her to go through. She was actually considering when Paul Jackson stepped in front of her. “Paul!” she said with surprise and relief. As much as she hated to ditch him, there was barely anything left in her, and besides that, the blood loss was starting to make her feel light-headed. She ran off to the side towards a more wooded area to get behind some trees, hoping that Avan and Paul could keep the other two occupied until she was feeling better...if that ever happened. Tifa...all those things they’ve been saying about me... “Don’t matter,” Tifa responded. “They’re just trying to manipulate you and sap your will to keep going. Don’t listen to them.” But they’re right! “No, they’re not. You’ve made mistakes, but these people are blowing it way out of proportion to make you vulnerable so that they can kill you. That’s all they want. Don’t let them win.” Mariah still wasn’t completely convinced, but she didn’t have the energy to argue further. When she reached her destination, she saw the girl who was Inhabited by Aerith. She looked uncertain about fighting. “Hey, I didn’t catch your name. I’m Mariah,” she panted. “Elie,” the girl responded. She looked past Mariah at the ongoing battles. “I feel like I should help out.” “You don’t look like you’ve fought much yet. My advice: don’t go out there right now. The green-haired guy is an insane killer, and James over there is possessed by Sephiroth. And I’m sure you know you’d be an instant target for Sephiroth.” Mariah got behind a tree and sat down at its base, grimacing in pain. “Oh my gosh, you’re bleeding all over the place!” Elie said. “We need to get you some help!” Mariah could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, and she struggled to speak. “No, don’t worry about it. You have to stay here...in case Joy needs help. I know...you just met him, but...can you...protect him...for me?” Then she blacked out. Oh, no. What do I do? Elie thought. “Wait! I know a healing spell!” Aerith said. Well, why didn’t you say so before? Help her out! Aerith took over and used Curaga on Mariah. Mariah’s wounds closed up most of the way, and the color started returning to her face, but she stayed asleep. “What’s wrong? Why isn’t she waking up?” Elie asked. It’s okay. She just needs to recuperate now, Aerith answered. “Don’t worry, Tifa, you’ll be fine,” she said. “And I’ll protect Joy and Cloud for both of you.” She then looked over at Zack as he fought the man with the scythe. “Come on, Zack, don’t die on me again,” she pleaded quietly.

Tifa was so caught off-guard by the newcomer that she didn’t have time to react to his attack, and ended up getting slashed in the side. The shock caused her to lose control of Mariah’s body as she fell, and Mariah was back in control. Her wound wasn’t deep enough to be fatal, but it sent a great amount of pain shooting through her torso. Mariah stared up at the man while holding her side as it started to bleed. Some things about him...the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, were eerily familiar... “Who are you?” she demanded in a strained voice.

PS3 and NES.

(Hmm... I don't see why not.) (And this ^ makes meh happy. http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png) Tifa got back to her feet, observing the fight between Sephiroth and Avan. “Hmph. Should’ve known that the bipolar guy’s tears were an act,” she said to herself. She shot more fire at Sephiroth’s back, not caring whether she hit Avan in the process. ------------------------------------------------------------ Naminé barely got the hang of Barrier when Aqua had her move on to Cure. “Sorry, I wish I could give you more time to practice each spell, but since this is a crash course, you need to have a bare minimum of knowledge of as many spells as I can teach you,” Aqua explained. “You’re doing great, though. Enough practice, and you’ll have flawless defense.” As Aqua taught her Cure, she had Naminé start by “Curing” herself. Next, Aqua allowed Naminé to use the spell on her. They repeated this a few times until she became somewhat good at it.

Tifa shot a few more explosions at Sephiroth, then started to throw herself to the ground to avoid his arm, but he was coming too quickly--his hand was almost at her throat.

The thing I hate most about Facebook is how people make obnoxious posts to get attention, but then when friends ask what they're talking about, they so it's none of their business. But goodness's sake, YOU MADE A PUBLIC POST IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! You automatically made it everyone else's business!!! Just saying... Freaking attention whores... http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/sleep.png

“That’s great that you think so, Sephiroth,” Tifa said, glaring up at him. “Anyway, I thought you were too full of yourself to have any concern for the emotions of your host. Since when do you care how James feels?” She sent more explosions his way.

“Yeah, that is funny, isn’t it? Because Mariah and James are both imperfect human beings, unlike you, who seems to know everything about how love should work!” Tifa snapped. “I’ve had it with you, you monster!” She reached out her fists and a series of explosions issued from them in Sephiroth’s direction.

LOL hey, I can dream, can't I?