darkSpyro

Araya had decided that one beating was probably enough for the night, and took the usual entrance to her base. She hung up her gear and suit in its sleek, white, lighted case, and changed into an extra set of pajamas she had up there, which consisted of a dark blue tank top, and loose fitting green cotton pajama bottoms with Mario riding Yoshi on them. She pressed a few buttons on a panel near what looked like an empty wall, and a door slid open, leading to her apartment.

Her apartment was actually pretty damn nice, considering she had the money from her inheritance. If anything was the penthouse to the apartment complex, this was it. She did have neighbors though, unlike a lot of penthouses, and they all had nice sized apartments too, but not as nice as hers. It had a huge, panoramic window that looked out to the streets below. It was an excellent view, and it was even better for a hero like her. To the left was the door to a relatively large bathroom with a whirlpool tub, and a shower for any guests. Save for Dr. Connors, she didn't get many though. On the right, she had a full kitchen, with nice appliances, and the fridge was always stocked. Across from her kitchen was her room, and while it had a huge bed and tons of posters, she never really went in there, and usually fell asleep on the couch.

Then, she had the living area. A small area was cut out in the floor and replaced with couches for people to sit in, and she had one of the best TVs money could buy. In addition, she had an exceptional array of game consoles, like an NES, GameCube, Wii U, PS4, and the newly released Xbox Infini. To take a load off, she decided to play a good old GameCube game, but couldn't really find one she wanted to play. She loved Zelda, but didn't personally have Wind Waker, but her neighbor Ray did.

She got up off the couch and exited her apartment, and walked over to Ray's. He was sitting outside his apartment, slumped against the door. He looked pretty depressed. Was something up?
Araya kneeled down to his level to try to comfort him

"Hey, Ray? You alright?"

Ray looked up from his slump and straightened out his legs so his face was more visible. He wasn't too familiar with Araya, he saw her every now and then but they didn't really hang out too much or at all really. It was amazing that she hadn't pieced together who he was considering how his hoodie was the exact same one that Zodiac wore, but then again, it was a popular hoodie and that's why he had decided to use it in his costume in the first place, the make him part of the many so he wasn't so easily identified.

"Oh, Hey Ari, I'm uh...I was just, y'know, checking the floor for....Floor deficiencies and whatnot, gotta be careful for those, ya know?" He let out a forced laugh and slung his head back against the wall, banging it in the process. "****!" He covered his mouth, knowing that there were kids in the building. Ray wiped his eyes to get away the tears that had formed. "Do you ever feel like a nobody..." He said softly. "Like everyone else matters but you?" He looked into her eyes as he spoke now. "Do you ever feel like, you aren't even worth it?"

Ray didn't wait for her to answer, he reached in his pocket for his apartment keys. "Oh great..." Must've fallen out in the damn sewers. He thought to himself as he sat up straighter. "I guess I'll have to call the building manag-....Oh yea, he's on his stupid honeymoon 'Look at me, I'm in love! Tee hee!" He imitated as he slammed his head back on the wall once more, this time no expression of pain to be noticed. "I'm just gonna sleep out here in the hall...Don't mind me, Ari."

Ray seemed pretty chill for someone who knew the ex-mayor's daughter. He'd proved, in the few times Araya had talked to him, that he'd be a trustworthy friend. He didn't ask about her past, he didn't ask anything those stupid tabloids wanted to know, he just seemed... normal. Not like all those other people behind her superhero identity, and not like all the lemmings that roamed the streets.

She sat down next to him, and pat his back a bit.
"Yeah, I guess I feel that way sometimes too..." She said, thinking. Ever since her family was killed, she hadn't really felt "worthless", but she definitely felt like her family's slaughter was the only thing about her that ever mattered.

God, she felt terrible for the guy. He was just sitting there in a heap, locked out and crying. The least she could do was let him stay for the night.

"C'mon up..." She said, standing up, and trying to get him to do the same.
"You can stay the night with me, or at least until you get a new key." She said, sighing. Maybe she could just heard him around all the keypads and secret doors. "I don't really normally sleep on my bed in the first place, you can use it. And we'll talk about all that emotion-y stuff, okay?"

Ray wiped at his face once more. "I wasn't crying, y'know." He slowly stood up, sliding up against the wall. "I was...Leaking, I had a leak, my tear ducts broke. Someone threw water in my face, I.....I wasn't crying..." Ray shoved his hands into his pockets. "I don't want to impose or anything, and I could never take your bed from you, I'll be fine somewhere else..." He tried to shake the depression off so he didn't bring her down aswell. "If you're letting me stay the least you can let me do is let me make you some dinner." He said with a warm smile.

//Sorry for short post, would've made longer but I'm just waiting for them to get in the apartment first.//

"Sure you weren't..." Araya said, giggling a bit, walking him down the hallway.

"I really don't sleep in my room, I usually sleep on the couch. My bed is a bit TOO comfy for me." She said, unlocking the door and leading him in. "Welcome to Casa de Araya. Please enjoy your stay." She said, hanging the keys on a homemade key rack by the door.

OOC: Np, I did the same.

Ray followed closely behind. As he entered the apartment he spun his head from side to side, inspecting the place. "Looks kinda like my place, if, y'know, you could see the floor." Ray's apartment was pretty messy, he didn't know why he was so lazy or unorganized, it actually bothered him, he considered that maybe he was depressed or maybe it was the fact he never grew up feeling like he was worth anything so he never really bothered with anything.

"I like it..." He looked over at the couch that was in front of the TV. "I don't really like my bed, it's so big and empty, you should try it...I mean! Uh, I didn't mean it like, you should try it with me, I meant you should try it because it's....Probably not as...Comfy..." He ran his hands through his hair in embarrassment and turned to close the door that she had opened so he didn't have to look at the face she was probably making.

Araya was, in fact, making a face, but it was more of a shocked or embarrassed one, if anything. Was he hitting on her? From what she saw of him, he usually seemed so quiet and to himself...

"H-how about that dinner you promised, eh?" She said, nervously changing the subject. "I have a lot in my fridge, go ahead and take a look. I'll be watching the news or something..." She said, walking back to the couch. She flipped through the channels, and finally settled on the newest Star Trek series, but it did little to preoccupy her mind. Did he really just say that? Something inside her wanted to respond to that, ask him what he meant, and be kind about it.

No, she couldn't. She lost too many people by getting close to them, she wasn't about to let that happen.

//He was trying to say that if she didn't like comfy she should try out his bed but he ***t up in saying it, rip in piece ray//

Ray was kind of confused as to why she seemed so unfriendly and cold, but he had said he would make her some food in gratification. He began to cook, a hidden skill of his that he let very few people know about and by 'very few' that meant himself. Ray began to whip up some food with what he had to choose from." He decided to make an Omelette and a Strawberry and Banana covered Blueberry Belgian Waffle Ice Cream Dessert but he would have to do without the Belgian part as she only had regular waffles. As he began to rummage through the kitchen for the ingredients he began to speak to her from the Kitchen. "We never really talk do we? Y'know, I don't really hang out with people often in general, no one really to hang out with, y'know? I've always thought about leaving the city, maybe going somewhere that I could make more of a difference, but this place...It's who I am...But I don't really know who that is to be honest, that's why I stay, to find out who I am." He turned the oven top on and began to make the omelette. "Sorry, I ramble when I cook, y'know some people say that Martha Stewart and I are interchangeable, and I can see it, I mean, one of us is an expert cook who has millions of fans and a really nice rack, and the other in Martha Stewart." He chuckled at his little joke, hoping she'd find it at the very least amusing.

OOC: rip in penguins ray 2015-2015

Araya sat there, sucking it all in. They hadn't really talked much, did he like her? Maybe she was just overthinking things...
She smiled a bit at his dumb joke, maybe out of genuinely finding him funny, or maybe just out of pity. He had her very, very confused.

"It'd be a shame if you left the city." She said, sounding a bit warmer. "You at least make a difference around here. I saw you help old Mrs. Xiao with her groceries last week. You really are more helpful than you know, Ray. Plus, If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here!" She said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

Dang, he really needs a friend right now. It'd be the least I could do, I guess. She thought.
"Need any help?" She asked, leaning up against the countertop.

Ray kept his eyes down, there was a lot going on around him, he had the waffles in the toaster, he had to melt the ice cream to just the right amount and he didn't know how strong the microwave was so he had to keep an eye on that, he had to slice bananas and strawberries, he had to keep an eye on the oven all the while trying to make conversation. "You can take the ice cream out of the microwave and put it on the counter."

Ray shrugged at her remarks. "She needed help, i helped her, anyone else would've done the same I'm sure, wouldn't you have?" He wasn't really familiar with conversation as he didn't have many, he never had a friend before. "You have a great Kitchen, it's kind f confusing with where all the food and dishes are but I'm Kitchen up." He chuckled at his little pun he'd made and continued to make the food. He turned off the oven as the omelette was finished and took out a plate and scoop it onto the dish.

Araya took the ice cream out and grabbed an ice cream scoop from one of the drawers.

"Yeah, I would have, but you really made more of a difference than you think around here." She said with a smile. She sure hoped she was cheering him up.
She giggled at his pun as she grabbed some utensils.
What the hell do I eat this with? A spoon? A fork? I don't think I have any sporks... She thought, but she ended up grabbing a spoon.

"Bad puns are the best. Keep those up and I'll be hanging around you forever." Araya said, lightly punching his arm. She hoped Ray hadn't noticed any of the cuts on her from the glass.

Ray had finished the omelette and the waffles had just popped out of the toaster, normally he would've grabbed the pieces with his tail but that was hidden in his pants so he had to walk over to the toaster and with his hands, put the on a plate. He brought the plate to the counter and took the scoop. "Thanks." He said with a smile and then put three scoops onto the waffles. He put the ice cream away and then squeezed the strawberries over the ice cream to get the juices to cover it, finally he placed the sliced banana pieces all around the plate.

Ray looked back to see Araya with a spoon and he gave her a very confused look as he went over to the silverware and grabbed a fork. "I'm not sure...I mean, I could've done that anywhere, you know? I want to do something big, I really want to make a huge difference, even if it's in one persons life."

When she punched him he was a bit confused, was he supposed to hit her back? He wasn't sure. "Bad? Now, I know you didn't just say that because my puns are amazing, y'know If I was on a Football team I would be the PUN-ter." He stuck the fork into the top of the warm ice cream and he grabbed a second fork and a knife for the omelette. He brought the food to her table and stood next to it. "Enjoy."

Once Ray handed her the plate, she was actually kind of shocked by how good it looked. Once she sat down, she immediately dug into it. All THA hero work sure did make her hungry. It ended up being just as delicious as it looked.
"Wow. This is really good!" She said in between huge mouthfuls. She took a break from it to ask some questions, and maybe try to cheer him up.
"What do you mean in one person's life? You've already made a difference in mine, just by being a friendly face who isn't totally focused on the past!" She said. " I don't meet a lot of people like that."

Ray took a seat adjacent to her at the table and watched her consume the food he had made for her. "I'm glad...But...I want people to know who I am, I guess. I want to do something really good, I'm sorry that I can't explain it better, maybe we should talk about something else." He hadn't eaten for quite awhile and his stomach was lightly rumbling but he didn't want to be rude and take any of her food. "If you like my food then maybe we could do this often...I mean, if you'd like, you wouldn't mind having me around, I'd love to see you again." He caught himself and then got embarrassed once more "I don't mean 'see you again' as in like, y'know a date kind of thing, NOT TO SAY THIS IS A DATE CUZ IT ISN'T! I just meant that, y'know if...If you...I mean....If you like to eat me...MY FOOD." He stood up promptly and began to twiddle his fingers about "I'm sorry, maybe I should go, I'm sure the hallway is comfortable. I'm just...I'm not good at...This. At talking to real people."

Araya quickly stood up, she really didn't want Ray to leave.
"Wait, don't go! It's okay! I understand!" She said, walking closer to him. She grabbed his arm, in a possibly futile attempt to get him to stay.
"Do... you want it do be a date?" She said, nervously.

She didn't know what was going on in her mind anymore, nor did she care at that moment, she just didn't want to let Ray down.

It was such a contrast, Ray's real self was much more tame and considerate than his masked self, maybe because when masked people didn't know who he was so he could be anyone he wanted to be.

When Araya took his arm he blushed lightly, and even more at her question. "I-I-I-I-I...Uhhhhh." He wanted to look away, run away, he was...Well he wasn't sure what the emotion was, nervous? Embarrassed? He wasn't sure. "I...D-Do you?" Ray wasn't bad looking, in fact, some would say he was 'Handsome' But he never had been on a date before, he was way too shy to ask anyone. Araya was quite beautiful in his opinion but he never thought of her as such until she'd asked the question and then it became awkward when he realized it. He awaited her response before he answered the question.

"I.... Uhhh..." Araya fumbled her words around, completely embarrassed. She hadn't done this since she was seventeen, and that ended very, very tragically.
Goddammit, stop ****ing around and say something already! She thought to herself. Her face reddened even further. She desperately wanted to impress him, to be cooler than she was being right now. She just wanted Ray to be happy.

"I guess so... If that's okay with you of course!" She said, sheepishly letting go of his arm.

'I guess so'

Those words flooded his head multiple times, IS that a yes? Or is she just feeling sorry for me? Maybe I should just go...Maybe I could climb in through my window or something.. He then firmly stood his ground and took a deep breath. "Araya, would you like to go out with me? On a date? ...Right now in your home?" He said, trying to keep himself looking strong and confident. His voice deeper than usual as he tried to impress her.

//#ShortReply
This is so cute <3 I ship this so hard omg//

"I... Um... Yes." Araya said, brushing her hair back a bit. She had to be as confident now as she was when she was Cell.
"Yes, that'd be very nice." She said, her voice sounding much more confident. Maybe this one won't die on her, if she protected him enough.

"I'm just gonna warn you now, being in a relationship with me is kind of a tough thing to handle. Especially with the paparazzi and all." Of course Araya didn't actually mean the paparazzi, she meant the possibility of being kidnapped because of her identity. If that happened, could she actually save him this time?

"Oh, I am familiar with the paparazzi, always following me around, I just can't help how cool I am, I guess." He joked with a smile. "I've never really had to deal with anything too tough but maybe a challenge is what I need..." Things got quiet for a moment and then he took her hand and brought her over to her giant window with the panoramic view. He pointed up at the black sky, at a cluster of stars that shone brightly. "Look, over there. You see that long snake-like line of stars? That's Eridanus, and over there..." He pointed to another place in the sky. "That's Lepus....Beautiful, isn't it? Or course I'd rather look at you than the stars...." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, is that not a first date kind of thing to say? I don't really know where the metaphorical line is so stop me if I'm in unwanted territory."

Araya blushed a bit, her body feeling warm all over. What the hell was this feeling? She knew it was love, of course, but she hadn't felt in in forever, it seemed so foreign to her.

"Ray, it's fine. It's romantic..." She said, slightly in awe. He was damn good at being romantic, yet here Araya was, still as bumbling as she was when she was a teenager. It's break her heart if anything happened to Ray.

"Are you sure you can handle it? I don't really want anything bad to happen to you..."

"it was?" Ray wasn't really sure how much human interactions worked, he wasn't familiar with love or friendship or anything of the sort so it was all new to him.

"It's been years since that **** happened, I don't know why people still care." He looked back out at the stars. "The moon is really amazing tonight. What's your Zodiac? Your symbol of the stars?" He questioned as he took a short step towards her.

"I'm a Pisces. The Fish. Fish are strong creatures, they have to swim through currents and they sometimes will travel for miles to get to their breeding spots, a lot of them don't make the journey, some get eaten or caught, but the ones that make it, they give life to more fish that will one day also make that journey, and the cycle continues forever. We are so much like fish..."

"Scorpio." Araya said, gently stepping a bit towards Ray.
"The personality thing fits and everything." The moon lit up the part of the room, making it seem extremely romantic and peaceful.
Yes, especially peaceful. Araya hadn't felt that in a long, long time.

"You sure seem to know a lot about animals." She Said shyly. "Have you considered working with them?"

"Fun Fact that most people don't know, Scorpio? Actually a Scorpion." He moved even closer to her, the lights of the city complimenting the light from the moon that shone in through the window.

"Well, i currently deliver Pizzas, Could Nnnneevveer give that up....Plus I just couldn't get attached and then watch them get sick..." Ray would've taken a job at a Zoo or something but the memory of his father made it difficult to do so.

"Scorpions are strong creatures. They are very territorial, they are small but powerful. One strike from the arachnid would cause terrible pain and possibly even death....How's that for romantic?"

Ray, quite conspicuously, took her hand in his as he spoke. And with each word he began to speak softer.

//How to get love
1. Be depressed
2. get into a random girl's home
3. use a romantic pick up line
4. have them somehow fall in love that easy
5. profit

Also I'm excited, I have something planned that's going to happen soon~//

Araya blushed even harder. What was he doing to her? She knew she couldn't get too attached, but she also just couldn't keep away. All that stuff about the Scorpion sounded exactly like her, it was uncanny.

"I don't exactly have a job at the moment, if that's alright with you. Until I find something worthwhile, I've been living off my inheritance..." Araya sure hoped she didn't sound like some loser to him. God knows that's all she needed.

"God, I hope I don't come off as that scary..." She said, shying away a bit further.

OOC: "I am sad and I don't have a place to stay" "stay in my apartment bby" sounds like a porno plot tbh

He walked towards he as she back away. He didn't want to be far from her. "I'm sure you have a soft side, Scorpions only attack to protect themselves and the ones they love...Sounds a bit silly for a bug but..." He raised an eyebrow about her inquiry. "If I had the choice I wouldn't have a job either, I wish I could live off an inheritance."

"You aren't, even a Scorpion needs a friend..." He brushed some hair out from in front of her face and then he took her face in his hand and kissed her.

//Putting on bucket list
It's going to happen one day.

Next post. It's gonna happen I think. Obby, I'm excited.//

Araya widened her eyes at the kiss, but slowly leaned back into it as her hear exploded like fireworks. As she pulled away, all she could think of was how good that was. After all the years of hardships and fighting, she felt as though she deserved to be happy. At least for just one night.

"Wow..." She whispered in disbelief.

"Yea...Wow." He whispered back. Ray brought his body closer to hers and wrapped his arms around her now. "I'm gonna do that again...You can stop me if you want." But she didn't, and so he kissed her once more, it was amazing, passionate, romantic, but perhaps too much. Ray started to feel funny, something wasn't right, he was getting excited and then...BAM! His pants shredded open at the back and his long monkey tail popped out straight. Ray just stood there, his eyes had widened at what had happened.

Araya jumped back a bit at the sudden tail coming out of Ray's pants.
What the ****!? She thought. Was Ray metahuman?

"Uhhh... Ray, what's with the tail?" She said, a look of absolute confusion on her face. "You know, you COULD have told me about the tail, I'm not into furry stuff..."

Ray spun around in circles a few times, trying to catch his tail and when he finally did he stuffed it back inside his pants. "I-I didn't...I...I'm not..." He began to back up slowly and ended up tripping over something and falling onto his back. "I'm not....I..." He got back onto his feet and stumbled a bit.

"It's not what it looks like! I just..I...I don't know, I don't have an excuse for once in my life!"

Araya thought for a bit. She'd seen that tail before...
"Ray, you're Zodiac!?" She yelled, hoping the walls were soundproof enough to where it didn't wake anyone up. "So that means you knew I was Cell this whole time!?"

Araya looked pissed, but it quickly faded into a smile as she came up and kissed him again.
"Sorry, I couldn't decide whether to throw you out the window for not telling me, or kiss you for revealing to me that Zodiac is really my extremely romantic boyfriend. I guess you can tell what I picked."

She laughed a bit before coming over and hugging him.
"I love you, but you're a ****ing asshole."

Ray stood there, with a face that could only be described at uttermost shock

"I kinda forgo-" Then she started to hug him and he didn't know what to do. The things she said were....Odd. "B-Boyfriend? Love?!?" He didn't want to push her away but he wasn't sure if he wanted her hugging him. "Araya, I like you, I reeally like you but...I mean, this is our first date, I've never even been on one of those, I mean, I've been in your apartment for an hour and you...Love me?" He didn't want to seem like an asshole because he really did like her but he didn't feel love, at least not at the moment. "Are you sure that's how you feel?" He didn't a relationship could be created out of a five minute date, but he didn't want to disappoint her either. "I just...Maybe we should just see where the next few days go first...God, you must think I'm a jerk."

Araya blushed a bit at the swords that slipped out of her mouth. She didn't mean that quite yet, she just didn't want Ray to be dissapointed, and she didn't want him to be depressed even further.

"Ray," She said, looking up at him. "I want to show you that you matter to people. I want to show that YOU matter. Not Zodiac, you. Ray. If jumping headfirst into something like that shows you that you matter, so be it." Araya said, sounding a bit more confident than she actually was. She knew she and Ray had really only shared a few kisses and an impromptu date, but he needed to know he was more important than he thought.

"So anyway," Tori said as he walked to the door with Aspen. "I... I'm actually kind of new myself to be honest. I only got into the hero business just a month ago after our last vacation to Thailand. So with that in mind, it may not sound like I'm the best person to have on your side as an ally. But in a way, maybe we could help each other out. We start small, and work our way up."

"Mind you this person does not know you very well," the tapir told Tori.

"My tapir suggested to me that maybe you're not comfortable around me yet," Tori said.

"Try not to mention me. It makes everything you say sound creepy," the tapir mentioned.

"So... well... I don't know..." Maybe trying to befriend a total stranger wasn't such a good idea. "I guess I just wanted to help you."

Demicila walked up to the apparently heroes who had been in the coffee shop. "You two are forming an alliance? That's so cool! I mean, you hear about them all the time and how they fight crime and stuff." She paused after a moment before she continued in a softer voice. "Do you guys need a third member? I'm new to this and slightly desperate... ?"

Angela cautiously moved forward to the three aswell, while she wasn't all too intimidated by the shapeshifter, even when he was in form after the initial surprise of it, she was still her usual nervous self when initiating contact with others. "S-same here, if that's okay." She said. "I've always liked the thought of a partner, or more, but I'm... Not much of a people person." Angela finished, looking at the ground.

Ray backed up a bit. "Well I just don't think expressing love for me and moving a million miles an hour is gonna make me feel any better, I just wanted a date...Y'know, we talk, I say something, you say something, one of those somethings may even be humorous, then I walk you home and we wait til the next date." Ray wasn't acting himself, he didn't know why, he preferred his sarcasm, he was starting to regain it as his depression was seeping away. "I just think tha-" Ray swung his head to look out the window. "Shut up!" He exclaimed, even though she said nothing. His ears now that of a bats.

Ray dashed for the door. "Someone's in danger, follow if you wish, take the rooftops, stay a fair distance behind." He ran down the four flight of stairs, quickly getting into his uniform. It felt good to let his tail out again. He climbed up a fire escape to the top of a building and began to jump across the rooftops. His ears and face flicking from side to side.

"But... Ray..." Araya said. She felt terrible. Maybe she was rushing too into it. She probably scared the poor guy.

But she didn't have time for self pity now, someone was in danger. She opened the door to her lair and donned her Cell costume, hopefully for the last time that night. As important as it was, running around fighting crime sure did tire her out. Once she finished changing, she did exactly as Ray asked, and stuck to the rooftops, a bit behind. She didn't want to make things worse than they already were.

Zodiac hopped from roof to roof, a serious look to his face and in his brown eyes. The moonlight left enough light so that he could see without using his night vision, something which he'd have to use often when out at night. Ray made a swift turn and jumped off the side of a tall building, it looked as if he'd just killed himself, but he'd landed safely at the bottom, he had sprouted large Angel wings that protruded out of his back and through slits in the back of his hoodie, he had glided down to a safe landing and then ran down a back alley to find a girl.

The girl was about seventeen or eighteen, there was blood all over her and a man next her in a pool of blood, dead. The girl was shaking, she couldn't speak due to the shock.

"Which way did he go? Tell me, now."

The girl pointed. "Call an ambulance for this girl!" Ray shouted to the rooftops and then ran off in the direction she'd pointed.

Ray hag gotten down on all fours, legs like that of a Cheetah, he ran at incredibly speeds until he could see the culprit in the distance, he shifted back to normal and sprinted towards the man as fast as he could.

"Well, if there's more people on board, we can help each other out more," Shut-Eye said. "We will try not to get in your way, but we will do what we can to help you." He then looked at the other two and wondered if they all knew each other. "By the way, did any of us introduce each other?"

Demicila started to hurry after Aspen, clicking the release on her skates. "I don't think we did, either." She said as she skated small semi-circles after Aspen. "I am Demicila! I plan on helping out the people of the city with a bang!" She shouted with a wide smile. Turning so that she was skating straight again, she stretched her arms and then knocked on her gauntlets. "These bad boys help me kick some villainous back side. Plus, they look SUPER cool! I made them myself."

Araya pressed the button on her white bluetooth, connecting her with Dr. Connors.

"Araya... It's like, midnight..." He said, groggily.

"Shut up, it's an emergency." She said, staring down at the trembling girl below. "Alleyway of 9th and Broadway. Call an ambulance."

"But Araya..."

"NOW." She said, hanging up. She knew Connors would do it, he had never let her down before. She made sure she could see the lights and hear the sirens before dashing back across the rooftops to catch back up to Ray.

The man ran as fast he could, brown purse in hand, he wore mostly black but there was something odd, something distinct. The man turned a corner, the alley was black and it was near impossible to see, it was evident this man knew the layout of the alleys front and back. As he ran he threw a bunch of garbage cans and knocked them over, they rolled towards Zodiac. "That move was pure Garbage! But if you wanna play ball...." Zodiac jumped from can to can until he was back on the ground and he continued to run. The man was always just out of reach. Zodiac gnarled and then wall jumped between two buildings, getting an upper ground and running off a few rooftops til he cut the man off at one of the alleyways. Zodiac jumped at the man and tussled about with him, he threw the thug up against a wall and started beating on him mercilessly "Why'd you do it!?" He screamed, but the man kicked Zodiac straight in the gut, causing him to keel over in pain. The man ran but tripped and cut his sleeve on a pipe protruding from one of the buildings, Zodiac could see on his arm a symbol, it was a head....A skull, with flames bursting out from the top. "COME BACK!" He hollered.

The man ran faster and faster, Zodiac in pain but he kept the man in site, they were in a part of the city Zodiac had never been, it was a graveyard, surrounded by a large metal gate, the grounds were deserted. The man ran to an open grave and jumped down, disappearing. "HEY!" Ray shouted. He screeched to a halt just before the grave. The sound of bats and owls could be heard echoing throughout the area, the trees were all dead and twisted up in distorted figures, graves were crumbling to pieces, not a single thing around was alive. And just then, as Zodiac peered down the hole of the grave that seemed to lead to pure darkness, something grabbed him and began to choke him. He gasped for air but could gather none. The sight of the hands wrapped around his neck shocked him, they were bones. It was a skeleton.

The ground began to shake, it rumbled with great force as the dead grass and dirt that covered the graves began to unsettle. Bony arms and heads began to emerge from the graves. An army of Skeletons. They came towards him, slowly. They formed a circle around Zodiac. "Looks lIke I'm...ACk! Boned..." He explained to himself in a joking fashion. Zodiac gasped for air and then finally his legs formed to that of a horses and kicked the skeleton grabbing him away. He snarled and then began to change multiple parts of his body as he jumped around, going from target to target, a wave of rage overtaking him. But the Skeletons kept reforming as they were shattered to pieces. "I'LL GRIND YOU TO DUST IF I HAVE TO!" Zodiac jumped into the air and then lunged at the skeletons, beating them with Gorilla fists, swatting at them with a Dino tail, his teeth were now fangs and his figners were now claws. 'GRRRAAAHHH!!!"

As Araya hopped from building to building, she noticed she was getting pretty lost. Nearby was a huge graveyard, and in the middle of all of it was Ray, as Zodiac, fighting off an army of... skeletons?
Jesus, not tonight... She thought to herself as she leaped over the wrought iron fence. The minute she landed, she knew this place was definitely off. A few of the skeletons broke off from the pack and lunged at her, but she knocked a few to the ground with her staff. Another came from her left, but she stepped to the right, causing it to collide into a heap of bones with another skeleton. A few more came towards her, and she knocked their heads off with the ends of her staff.

"I see you found good 'ol Mr. Skeltal, Zodiac." She said with a smirk. "Didn't that internet thing say to thank him and my greatest wish will come true?"
She lodged her staff into one skeleton's ribcage and twisted, causing it to fall to the ground in shambles.

"Now might be a good time to tell you that I don't do so well with magic!" She yelled. More skeletons were closing in on her.

Ray didn't even flinch when Cell entered the fray. He continued to beat the bones to dust, hoping that would stop them for good. "This isn't magic." He stated firmly. "The dead are really alive." He flipped in the air, kicking a couple skeletons away from him and then running over to Cell. "Magic would be if someone were controlling the skeletons completely....Someone is controlling these skeletons, but the skeletons are making their own decisions, attack in their own way, they were lying dormant, waiting for a command...This is real." Ray spun around, knocking more skeletons back with his large wings. They were now covered in dust and bone.

"We can't win this." He said as he turned his attention to the grave that the man had jumped down. "Hey Araya." He said he turned to face her and then jumped in the air flapping his wings, grabbing her under her arms. "Go to Hell." He said as he held her firmly and flew down the dark hole that led to an unknown place.

"Hold on!" He cautioned her. He was going straight down, the hole was just big enough for them to fit so it was hard to maneuver. He began to slow down as he saw something, a light....Not a light. A ray of red and orange, something flickering. They had reached the bottom and Ray placed Araya on her feet. He retracted his wings. "Stay close..."

Surrounding the two was a large cavern-like place, it must have been miles long, tens of thousands of square footage. Stalactites and stalagmites hung from the ceiling and floor respectively, blood and bones painted the walls. Piles of skeletons and rotting corpses accompanied the decor that was that of a Hell theme. There was a walkway of torches, ranging from colors that of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, and white.

A voice was heard somewhere in the caverns. There were many different tunnels and ways to go. "Quiet...."

"Did you get what I asked for?" The voice was soft, but gruff at the same time. It seemed to reverberate throughout the caverns.

A smaller voice returned the answer. "Y-Yes, Master. We got you the amulet, just as you asked, they were taking it to the museum but we got it." This voice sounded meek and frightened. It was most definitely the man Ray had been chasing.

The larger voice spoke once more "I hope you took care of them both...Otherwise I will be incredibly....Shall we say, displeased." He paused for a moment to ponder. "The rest of the artifacts must be gathered. I wish to make my sacrifice soon. And as for the ones who followed you.."

"F-Followed, Sir?"

"Yessssss....They are here now...Hmm Hmm Hmm Hahaha...I can smell the both of you.." The voice was speaking to Ray and Araya though whomever it belonged to could not be seen. "One who can change and the other, the one who can withstand poison and fights with the staff...Hahaha! So foolish you were, Amadeus, So foolish indeed..."

And with that a scream from the smaller sounding voice, the sound of cracking bones and dripping blood could be heard, it was brutal and grotesque, even though it could not be seen. "Fiiinnnddd Meeee......" The large, booming voice said.

Ray looked to Araya. "I'm taking you back up, I'm fighting this on my own, I don't know what is happening but I want you safe."

Araya brushed the dirt off of her costume.
That voice... She thought, already getting the chills. It mentioned the both of us. Even if Ray wants to protect me, there's no guarantee that he won't come after me anyways.

"Like hell you're taking me up, I can handle myself!" She said, her voice absolutely dripping with annoyance. "That weird guy mentioned both of us, he probably wants both of us. He might go after me anyways."
Araya separated her staff into two sticks, and activated the taser functions on high. It would give them light and she'd hit a little harder, but she'd exhaust all of her taser battery over the course of the battle. As she stood there, her lightning rods glowing, she felt very powerful, like she could take on anything.

"I'm staying by your side. If that means all I get to do is beat up minions, then so be it, but I am NOT leaving."

"You're stupid. But so am I. Don't attack unless they attack." Ray took the lead and walked down the tunnel of torches, it seemed the voice was coming from everywhere, but with the help of his bat ears he was sure it was coming from the tunnel he walked down. Moans and groans and screams of pain and despair echoed throughout the caverns, water and blood mixed together and dripped from the ceiling, creating large pools of liquid that were near unavoidable. "Tread lightly." He spoke softly, not wanting whatever or whoever was down there to know they were coming.

But he knew. At the end of the tunnel that the two walked through there was a large room with flames bursting from the perimeters of the walls. Half eaten corpses of both humans and animals laid lifeless as a rock. Chains hung from the walls, some broken, others shackled to skeletons and those that were barely alive. A large throne at the end, at least twelve feet tall, it was black as night and the interior was red as blood. On the floor adjacent to the throne was the body of the man Ray had followed. It was mangled and twisted, it was missing limbs and there was blood pouring out of the terribly cracked skull, brains and guts flooded the room out of his body and his limbs lay twisted about in ways thought unimaginable.

On the throne sat what looked like a large Devil. At least ten feet tall, his body red. His horns black and twisted. His eyes were pure yellow with black irises. He had long black claws and large fans like that of a Vampires. He had a snout the slightly protruded out from his face that was akin to that of a wolfs. His skull was bloodied, and stained light green in some areas, there were no signs of flesh, his head was just a skull, but his body was comprised of what seemed to be skin. His head was burning with flames, Bright Red and Orange with a hint of white and blue. He held a long staff in one of his massive hands. It had a large misty blue orb that was being held by what looked to be designed as claws and a Dragon head with wings. Speaking of wings, on the back of the creature were large towering black wings, they must had had a wingspan of at least seven feet. The creature let out a roar but he did not get up, he stayed seated in his throne.

"I did not hope to be discovered quite yet....I haven't had the chance to go forward with the slightest of my plans. Oh, how disappointing....I was counting on being found but not see soon, that bumbling idiot who you followed made a huge blunder but it matters not....It's a shame that I'll have a kill you, you seem as though you'd be fun to toy around with but I have a meeting with fate and I mustn't delay." The creature then let out a loud, bellowing roar and the caves began to shake, boulders fell to the separate Zodiac and Cell from each other, there was no escape. On the side Cell was trapped in there was a figure coming out of the shadows.

"CELL!" Ray screamed as he ran to the boulders and began to try to pry them away but not a single one would move. "Let her go or I'll hurt you good..."

The beast laughed. "Oh my! You are humorous indeed. I will deal with your friend first...I will make you listen to her screams of agony..."

Large black tentacles uprooted from the ground and grabbed Zodiac, throwing him against the wall where he was chained by thorn vines. He struggled but it only caused pain.

On Cell's side of the room the figure was getting closer and the large Devil spoke now but was not seen. "Fear....Anger...Hatred....Destruction...It is unavoidable, no matter how much good you do or wish to do. No matter how many lives you save, there are a million others dying in their wake and I see to it that those million die in pain and suffering. Do you know who you're really fighting, my dear?" The shadowy figure walked otu of the darkness to reveal itself. It was Araya. "You fight yourself. Every single time that you put on that mask and hide who you really are, it is because you are afraid of what you are going to let yourself become so you hid your choices behind a mask and become a separate entity from yourself and you hope that it will be enough to justify your cause but it isn't because at the end of the day you are your own worst enemy, the only one in the way of your future and your happiness is yourself....Now kill. KILL THE SIDE YOU WISH NOT TO BE! Or can you not? Is it too daunting, is it too troublesome? I know you want this, you want to be a hero, you want to fight and hurt and injure and you justify that as a benefit towards those who do no wrong? Every time you fight and cause pain I know what you see, you see yourself, and what you hope not to become..."

The Shadow Araya jumped and began to strike at Cell with incredibly force.

As quick as Araya saw the horrors of the Satanic throne room ****, she was thrust into a heap of rubble. Her rods fell to the floor as was pinned down by massive rocks. She tried to get out, but for some reason, she couldn't escape. Slowly, a figure came out of the darkness, but upon closer inspection, she found it to resemble herself! She couldn't focus on her double for long, as each time her eyes gazed upon her shadow, her mind was forced to relive her most torturous memories in brutal detail. Her family's slaughter... The loss of her last lover... Dr. Andrews getting Alzheimer's... All of it, flooding her memory at once, all of it feeling so realistic.

That's when it started punching her. No matter how much body armor she had, each punch to the gut felt like a gunshot wound. Araya wanted to cry out in pain, she wanted to fight back, but she couldn't.
I guess this is how it ends... She thought as tears streamed down her face. With each blow from her clone, she cried out in agony.