Cory's POV
      As I turned around, facing the red headed girl that I hadn't seen in so long. I narrowed my eye at her, suprised to see she was still wearing the paper crown that I had made so many years ago for her. Shelby looked at my camera face, and smirked, "I see Dr. Ross did as I asked of him...I only hoped it'd have killed you by now, though..." Suddenly, I felt rage burn through me, "That was you!? You were the reason!?" I snarled bitterly. She giggled, "Yep! What, you don't like my gift to you?"

       "You know her, Cory?" I heard Uni question in complete suprise, but I was more focused on Shelby's last sentence. "This 'gift' has ruined so many things!" I snapped, taking a step closer to her. She smirked, "Good to hear!" She cheered. I saw Uni back up a bit, and Shelby seemed to notice him aswell, "Ah, yes, Graser has sent me to collect you..." Shelby admitted with a smirk. Uni tensed up, making her laugh. "So, you work for Graser now?" I hissed. She nodded, looking at my group, "And you....Are traveling with a group of nobodies, I see."

      I scoffed, "Everyone here is SO much more then you'll ever be." I rerorted, and she rolled her eyes. "Why Graser, Shelby?" I asked, "You had so much good potential...." I finished, sounding disappointed. She scoffed, "'Good potential'? Cory, we killed and stole, for money, where's the good in that?" She asked, and I felt the others tense behind me. "And Graser has promised me great things, for doing this job." Shelby said simply, "Like an army, and money...." She said, sounding excited. "And you trust him?" I asked. "What?" She questioned. "You trust him to fulfill his promise?"

       "Oh course I do, he's better than you'd think." Shelby said quietly, looking at the ground, as if thinking. They she looked back up at me, smiling, and holding her hand out. "Join me, Cory. And together we could be the same pair of disaster as before." She offered, "We could rid the world of the scum that lives on it. Come, Cory, this must be your destiny." She invited. I stared at her hand, then glanced at the others. I reached for her hand, then suddenly swung my knife at her hand with my other hand. Her hand quickly turned to fog, the knife going straight through it.

       Shelby scowled, "Oh, don't be that way..." She said. I bared my teeth, "After everything you've done, you expect me the join you!?"  I yelled, stepping closer to her in my burning rage. I then lunged at her, My knife outstretched, but I only fazed through her. I regained my balance on the other side, and turned around to face her. She smirked, and I saw Uni holding his daggar, sneaking up on her. Shelby glanced back, "Oh, we can't have this." She said simply, and held out her hand.

       Several small, smoky orbs shot from her hand, each hitting one of my friends in the face. They expanded, encircling all my friends heads in the thick, dangerous smoke. They all fell to their knees, fighting to get the smoke off. "No!" I cried, glaring coldly at Shelby. She giggled, "Now we can fight in peace." She said. I lunged at her in rage, but only managed to faze through her again. I felt her kick me from behind, and I stumbled forward, but turned around quickly. "Don't be a coward, Shelby! Fight me like a real person!" I yelled. She smirked, pulling out a sword, "Very well." She said simply.

      She lunged at me, but I dodged, but her sword raked across my arm, leaving a deep cut. I hissed in pain, but leapt at her. She dodged my attack, and swiped at me, cutting my back. I grunted in pain, but quickly whipped around, and I managed to cut Shelby's arm. She squeaked, and I smirked, "What, can't take the hit?" I teased. She smirked, "Sureeeee...." She said, swinging at me, but I blocked it. I pushed my body weight forward, making her stumble back.

       I swiped at her, cutting her chest. She stumbled back, and I kicked her in the leg, making her fall. Her sword fell to the ground, and I grabbed it, pointing it down at her. "I win." I said simply. She wanted, looking up at me, "F-Fine...But this isn't over!" She growled, and she melted into shadows, along with the sword I was holding, and shot into the woods. I looked at my friends, and saw the shadows melt away from their faces. They were all coughing, and gasping, but they seemed fine. I smiled, falling to my knees as blood ran thickly down my back.

       Dawn came to my side immediantley, pressing against the wound. The others made their way over to me, sitting infront of me, "Cory...Explain...Please...." Uni said quietly. I sighed,  "Fine...Fine...Shelby and I go WAY back..." I began, "When we were kids, we lived together on the street..."
              *3rd person flashback*
       "C'mon, Cory!" A cute girl with red hair and a paper crown called as she ran down the street. A boy with blonde hair, and bright blue eyes chased her down the street. "Shelby, wait up!" He called. The two ran down the street, both only 8 years old, but they were the only ones each had. They arrived at a nearby alleyway, hiding in the shadows of it. Shelby looked down at an address, which she had written on a piece of paper. "I think this is the guy..." She murmured. Cory pulled out his bow, "So, how are we going about this?" He asked. Shelby thought for a moment, "I'll bring him out, then you shoot." She said simply, and Cory smiled, nodding.

     The boy hid in the alleyway, and when he heard the girls voice he loaded his arrow. "Let's go this way, I think my puppy ran this way!" He heard the girls say frantically, then, after a moment, Shelby was passing the alleyway with the man. "There it is!" She announced, pointing at Cory with a smile. The man looked, and his eyes widened, "WHAT-" He began, but Cory cut him off with a shot into the skull, killing him, and sending him crashing to the ground. Shelby and Cory high-fived, laughing.

      The two were the youngest known bounty hunters in the country, at only 8 years old, the kids killed at least five people a week. They earned much money for their job. And they were quite good at it, considering they had an unbreakable bond and trust. They'd known each other for as long as they could remember, which was a valuable asset to them. Since they could usually tell what the other was going to do before they did it.

      But one day, things started to change. Cory walked down the street with some bread he'd just bought, but when he entered the alleyway that he and Shelby always met in, he noticed Shelby sitting down, staring at the ground. He broke the bread, and sat next to her, giving her half. "You okay?" He asked. "No, Cory...Is this all we're ever going to be?" She asked. Cory bit his bread, "What do you mean?" He asked. Shelby looked at him, "I mean...We have some potential, Cory! We could do anything we want! We could build our own army! We could have so much power!" She explained.

       The girl had a great ambition, which made the boy uncomfortable. "Shelby...I don't like this job...We only need the money...I don't want to kill people for a living..." He admitted. Shelby scoffed, "Open your eyes, Cory! We're the best killers in the country!" Shelby retorted. Cory got up, looking at her, and Shelby, too, stood up, facing her old friend.

       "Shelby...I don't like this side of you..." He admitted. "Cory, You're missing the bigger picture! We can be something big!" She squeaked excitedly. "But...I don't want to do that.." He argued. "Well, You're going to have to." She said simply, "Because you're half of this whole." She finished, grabbing his arm. Cory yanked away from her, confusing her. "Cory-" "No, Shelby, I don't help you with this murderous dream of yours!" He snapped at her. "But-" "NO. Shelby, and I don't want to do this with you if these are your intentions..." He admitted. "Goodbye, Shelby..." He hissed in his rage. Shelby's eyes widened as Cory turned around, bolting away. She held her arm out, "Cory, Wait!" She cried, but he was already gone. She sighed, tears slipping down her face, she backed against the wall, sliding down it and hugging her knees, "He'll be back..." She whispered sadly. "And I'll get to say sorry...."
                       *Flashback end*
        "I never returned to that alleyway...I ran into the woods, but I was captured by a doctor, who replaced my face with a camera...And when I ran away from there, I found Uni." I finished explaining, guilt in my tone.

A/N Hah, what did you think about Cory's backstory? And I guess losing Cory had something to do with Shelby's job now, huh? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, AND I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING DAY, AND GOODBYE PEEPS!!!!