Paradox woke up early the next morning to scratching at the door. Bailey jumped awake as the cyborg quickly covered her mouth. She looked at him with worried eyes as her body began to shake. The cyborg slowly and quietly got up from the mat he had been sleeping on before walking towards the door. He slowly raised a finger to his mouth as he looked back at Bailey, indicating that he wanted her to stay quiet. Bailey nodded as she quietly sat up and looked towards the door. Paradox turned towards the door and slowly turned the door handle before quickly opening the door.

Before he could react, Paradox was instantly tackled by Serene. "Paradox!" Bailey yelled as she quickly ran over. Paradox started laughing as he was licked by the dragon girl. "Okay! Okay! You found us!" He laughs. Serene wagged her tail happily and roared softly at him. "I thought you said she had flown away." Bailey says as she stares at them

"She did. Serene, why are you back?" He asks as he looks at the winged key. She whimpered a bit. "She can't communicate with us, Paradox." Bailey says as she puts a hand on his shoulder. He sighs and gently pets Serene. "We will find a way to fix you...I promise." Serene purred quietly and slowly leaned into the petting. 

"We should probably go find some food. We have a long day ahead of us." Bailey stated as she closed the door and looked over at the two. "True, but we will have to be very careful about how we do so. Akako could be waiting for us at any turn, or even try to control Serene's mind once more." Paradox replied as he stood up. The wolf nodded in agreement as she quickly gathered a few water bottles they had found the night before and placed them in a backpack. "Let's get going."

The two then set out to find a food source, with Serene trailing behind them. As they snuck through the streets, Bailey noticed it was a bit darker than it usually was during the day time. The sun hadn't been blocked out and there were no clouds in the sky. The city was just...dark. Lifeless. And full of shadows. 

"Paradox-" The wolf started before he looked at her and nodded. "I know." He said quietly as he looked around. The two jumped slightly as they heard a loud animalistic growl come from Serene. They both looked back at her to see the key growling at her own shadow against a brick wall. "Why is she growling at her own shadow?" Bailey asked as she looked towards Paradox. 

"I am not sure," He replied as he slowly reached out to grab the key. Serene looked at him and began hissing. "Serene, calm down!" The cyborg yelled as he grabbed ahold of her and yanked the key away from the wall. She yelped and begin squirming violently. "What has gotten into you?" Paradox sighed as he tried to calm her down.

Before Serene could make another noise, several shadowy arms shot out of the shadows all around them. Bailey screamed as she was grabbed by two of the arms and pulled into the shadows. "Bailey!" Paradox yelled as he tried to grab her. But it was too late. She had disappeared into the shadows. The cyborg clenched his fists together before running out of reach from the shadows, dragging Serene behind him. 

"Seems we may need to contact some of our friends for backup." He growled as he glanced around his surroundings. Serene whimpered softly and pawed at the cyborgs leg. Paradox looked down at her and smiled a little. "It'll be alright, Serene. We will get Bailey back," he sighed. "Somehow...."