Words of Wisdom:By Harry Leferts

Mog tilted his head as he poked at a area of empty space with a frown on his face. "Is this where you sensed something, Kupo?"

Nodding, Taylor in her Keynote garb nodded some as she held Melody of the Lost over her shoulder. "Yeah... there's a couple of spots like this actually. Could they be that keyhole thing that you were talking about? It feels like they can be, I don't know... unlocked?"

That caused Mog to pause and blink before he turned and stared at her. "... Multiple ones, Kupo?" At her nod, he shook his head as he scratched it. "Then it can't be the keyhole, Kupo. There's only one per world after all and if there's multiple spots, then it must be something else."

On Taylor's shoulder, Ifrit just grunted. "This whole place is just weird."

Before anything else could be heard, a shout caught their attention. "Hey there, Keynote!" Turning, they spotted Glory Girl, Gallant, and Vista with the New Wave member being the one who called out as she landed. With a smile, she walked over to Taylor and looked around the empty lot. "So... what are you doing here?"

All Taylor did though was frown as she crossed her arms across her chest, her Keyblade tapping against the ground. "I sensed something here that's like other spots in the city... A weakness I guess."

Behind her visor, Vista raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Gallant. "A... weakness?"

Rapidly rubbing her head through her hood, Taylor nodded. "Yeah, that's the best that I can call it."

Curious, Vista walked around and used her powers to twist the space in the area in various directions, reversing, shortening, or lengthening it. Then she shrugged. "Well... nothing's happening. Maybe you're getting some kind of, er, false read or something?"

Tapping his chin, Gallant rapidly made a call into PRT HQ and then shook his head as he walked around. "I'm just seeing an empty lot."

More then a little frustrated, Taylor growled and lifted Melody of the Lost before she jabbed at a spot. "I'm sensing it right there-" Whatever she was about to say stalled as a thin beam shot from her Keyblade and hit what looked like a tiny little keyhole. Blinking, she looked down at her Keyblade and blinked as it trembled and there was a whistling sound before, with a click, there was a rectangle of light that soon resolved into what looked like a window made of glass. On the other side, was a hill overlooking a town on the seashore. "... What the fuck?"

Gobsmacked, Mog examined the glowing window. "That's not the type of passage to another world that I've ever seen before, Kupo."

Beside him, Boco just nodded. "Kweh."

On the radio, both Gallant and Vista could hear Kid Win come over the coms utterly confused. "Uh, can someone tell me why I'm reading a source of radio signals from Earth Alph coming from your area?"

Slowly, Vista turned toward Taylor as Glory Girl tossed through some rocks and sticks, each of which made it to the other side. "Did you just open a stable portal to Earth Alph!?"

When a butterfly flew through the portal and disappeared into the trees on the other side, Taylor chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. "Uh... I guess?

Gallant just raised an finger as the radio filled with chatter as various Protectorate members and Wards headed for their spot. "In the words of Clockblocker... this is bullshit!"

Apprenticeship By: Harry Lefrets

Frowning, Sabah frowned a bit and tapped her chin before she looked to the side. "Mog, do you know where Taylor is?"

With a blink, Mog looked up from the pile of... stuff, which looked like various electronic components. "Taylor went downstairs to exercise, Kupo!"

That caused Sabah to just freeze for a moment before she sighed as she remembered that since the fight with Lung, Taylor had been practicing and exercising more often. 'What am I going to do with you...' Opening the basement door, she paused for just a moment. Though it was less for the door then the sounds of grunts coming up which caused a blush to climb her neck until she shook it off and began to walk down the stairs. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Sabah."

Sadly for her, all thoughts in her head came screeching to a halt once she reached the bottom. The basement in the Hebert household had once been full of various things, but Taylor with some help from the others had pushed and cleared an area close to where the furnace room was. After that, she had covered the floor in various mats and had taken to exercising there. Right now though, Taylor had her legs wrapped around a pull-up bar and was doing situps. "60... 61... 62..." What made it worse for Sabah, of course, was that Taylor's "Work Out" clothes consisted of a sport's bra and shorts. Hearing a choking sound, Taylor blinked some sweat from her eye and tilted her head back just a bit. "Oh... hi... Sabah... 67..."

It took Sabah a moment, but she managed to reboot her brain just enough to answer. "H-hi... Taylor..." The other girl blinked at the odd, stuttering response before she shook it off. Meanwhile, Sabah just continued to watch. "So, uh, exercising?"

Nodding, Taylor let out another grunt as she ignored the strain. "Yeah... I... 68... decided that I... couldn't rely on... just... running... 69..." For a brief moment, Sabah choked a bit at the last word along with the grunt. "To keep fit... 70... So I... went online... and asked some other... 71... heroes for advice..."

As she attempted to get her mind off the sight, even as she committed it to memory, Sabah took a deep breath. "So who did you ask?"

Once more grunting, Taylor continued to push. "75... I asked Miss Militia... and... Mouse Protector... 76..."

That last bit caused Sabah to raise an eyebrow. "Mouse Protector?"

With a nod and a deep breath, Taylor raised herself again. "78... Yeah... we both... 79... use swords and she... 80." Stopping, Taylor hung there upside down as she grabbed a towel and wiped her face and neck. "Whew... Mouse Protector contacted me via PM and we got to talking. So I asked her for some advice. She suggested working on my upper body strength and gave me some exercises and stretches that she said would increase my reach and flexibility." Taylor blinked again as she heard a choking sound and looked over at Sabah. "Is... something wrong?"

Rapidly, Sabah just shook her head and coughed. "Uh, no, I think that I just swallowed a fly is all." Even as Taylor nodded, Sabah continued the thought in her head. 'Reach... and flexibility... Goddamn it...' It was then part of the conversation filtered fully. "Wait... Mouse Protector decided to contact you? Not the other way around?"

Grasping the pull-up bar with her hands, Taylor straightened her legs and did a flip back to the mat before walking over to her water bottle, not noticing Sabah looking her over. "Yeah... really weird, but it was her. Said that she decided that if there was going to be another swordswoman hero, might as well teach her some skills."

Eyebrows furrowing, Sabah frowned a bit. 'Odd...'

Just Friends By: Harry Lefrets

Blinking, Taylor looked up from where she was doing her homework at a free spot in the back of the Doll House during a break. "Uh, what was that?"

Ingrid only sighed and leaned against the desk as she raised an eyebrow at the teenager. "I was asking you how you felt about Sabah?"

That only caused Taylor to blink again and stare at her in utter confusion. "Well, she's my best friend... my very best friend. Why?"

Waving a hand, Ingrid shrugged a bit though she was staring at the door. "I've known Sabah a long time and I can see that she cares about you a lot. But what I want to know is what you feel when you're with her."

Eye wide, Taylor turned to her fully. "Why didn't you say so?" Leaning her chin, Taylor softly smiled. "Hmm... well, I feel warm when I'm around her. I mean, when she hugs me and such it's like all the bad just melts away leaving a warmth. Safe is another word I guess that I can use. Yeah, warm and safe..."

Chuckling, Ingrid gave her a smile. "Warm and safe, huh?"

Slowly, Taylor nodded with a slight grin on her face. "Pretty much, like everything in the world just doesn't matter anymore. Sabah always knows just the right words to say to me too. I love making her smile and laugh you know, it just makes me feel even warmer and I sometimes want to..." Confusion spread across Taylors face as she grasped with one hand as if trying to grab something. "Want to do, I don't know what. But something good I guess." Frowning, Taylor sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I wish that I could figure that out though... just the same though, the little moments between us are the stuff that I really like. Watching those corny Alph movies on the couch with popcorn and everything."

Her lip twitching, Ingrid nearly missed Taylor asking if she could keep a secret. "Sure, I can do that."

Taylor stared off toward the window and bit her lip. "I... when Sabah... when I thought that Lung killed her, it felt like my heart was torn out. I wanted Lung dead. Heck, I wanted him, the Undersiders, and... I wanted them to burn. I know that Sabah wouldn't have wanted that, but I just wanted them to feel like I did, like they made me feel when they took her..." Swallowing, Taylor looked up at her. "Don't tell Sabah that, I don't want her to think... I don't know. I just don't want to see her be afraid of me and stuff. To think that I'll go crazy or something..."

Reaching over, Ingrid just squeezed her shoulder. "I won't tell Sabah anything, but trust me when I say that she wouldn't think of you any differently." With that, Ingrid gave her a nod and left Taylor deep in her thoughts. Having walked through the doorway, Ingrid stopped once she was out of view and turned to Sabah who stood there with her hand clutched to her chest. "Sabah... look at me, honey." Once she did, Ingrid continued. "Taylor is going through a very tough time..."

Chuckling, Sabah shook her head. "I guess that I know that better then anyone else." Thoughtful, she looked at the doorway. "She doesn't even realize, does she?"

All Ingrid did was shake her head. "No, I don't think that she does, or rather... she does realize, she just can't make herself do that last step at the moment." A stormy look crossed over her face for a moment and then was gone. "Whoever hurt her, did so in a way that she's afraid. Just... take it slowly like you have been, okay? I don't want to see either of you getting hurt because of misunderstandings. Either hers in regards to you and herself, or you in regards to her and yourself." Having done what she set out to do, Ingrid left yet another young woman quiet and thoughtful...