Disclaimer: Arc-V and its characters are owned by no one but their creators and writers. Enjoy the collab.

Zarc: You better enjoy it or I will hunt you down and destroy you!

Ray: -whacks him with Yuzu's fan- Chill out, will you?

Me: -sweatdrops- Let's just start. Oh, and don't forget to check out CorinnetheAnime's stories. They are really good stories. Special thanks to her for helping with me with this collab.

"Ha! Kicked your butt in Mario Kart AGAIN!" Zarc jumped up and did a little victory dance, leaving his opponent to set her controller down roughly.

"Aw, no fair, Zarc!" Ray cried out in protest, pouting rather dramatically. "I was so close that time, too!"

"Close, but not close enough," he ended with a cheeky grin on his features, which made Ray guffaw in return.

"You're hilarious," she replied sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"Thank you. I do my best." Zarc did a smug bow to tick Ray off. And it worked, much to her mock annoyance.

"Sometimes, I wonder how I can even stand your jokes in the first place," Ray quipped, crossing her arms. But in her heart, she couldn't really stay mad at her friend forever, even if he was rather arrogant.

"But you just do, Ray, because you love me." That genuinely smug yet affectionate smile of his always found its way into her heart, no matter how hard she tried to resist or ignore.

Ray huffed with a smile creeping on her face. "Sometimes I wonder why."

Zarc placed his hands on his chest dramatically like he had been shot, falling backwards on the couch. "Oh! That was a cheap shot there! I'm afraid your banter has fatally wounded me!"

Ray rolled her eyes at his playful antics (which included him sticking out his heart and gagging). "Okay, Zarc, if it's any consolation, how about a rematch? Or better yet...a challenge?" She ended the last part with a subtle undertone of suggestiveness.

Zarc caught the implication, however, his smile becoming wolfish. "And what sort of challenge are we talking about, dear Ray of sunshine of mine?"

She snickered lightheartedly at his last phrase, knowing that he was teasing her with a corny nickname. "You think you're up to it?" Ray gave a suggestive grin.

Zarc leaned in close, their noses almost touching as he raised one eyebrow. "With you? Anything."

Ray grinned wider, her eyes not leaving his as if daring him to fight. "Well, then. Let's get to it."

"So what challenge are you thinking of? Fight to the death? Shortest time? Most power-ups? List goes on and on...if you know what I mean." He winked at the last part.

Ray's grin turned evil. "Rainbow...Road."

Zarc's smile also widened at the sound of the track. "So you're pulling no punches this time, are you?"

"Nope," she replied, scrolling over to find the hardest racetrack, "I'm not."

"So what penalty does the loser have to face?" He asked that phrase a little too seductively.

Ray gave a seductive purr. "Winner's choice."

Zarc gave a leery smirk, knowing what she meant by that. "So...anything?"

"Anything."

"I like those odds...very well, let's go!" Zarc declared, preparing his vehicle. "But I guess this shouldn't be that hard of a challenge since you lost the last one."

Ray huffed in return. "You apparently don't know the legend of this evil track."

Zarc smirked. "This is a challenge! I'm prepared for it!" He puffed his chest out, picking up his controller with confidence.

Ray laughed heartily, clicking on the dreaded racetrack. "You're on, Zarc! Prepare to lose big time!"

"Bring it on! Just don't weep like a baby when you lose!" Zarc smirked.

-two minutes later-

"NO! NOT AGAIN!" Zarc wailed as he fell off the track for the eighth time.

Ray muffled a snicker from this, her character zooming past the mark where his fell off the track. "Geez, where was all that boasting about you eating me earlier? I thought you were good at this particular track."

"THIS TRACK IS EVIL! MORE EVIL THAN I EVER WAS!" Zarc whined with an adorable Yuya-like pout on his face.

Ray patted him on the back, comforting him for his continual losses. "Hey, as true as that statement is...you'll do better next time."

"Hey! I'm not giving up! I'm still gonna beat you!" Zarc declared, not giving up since he didn't want look like a loser in front of Ray.

Ray smiled warmly at this, then turned her focus back to the game. "Well, we still have one more lap to go, and so one more chance for you to try and catch up."

"And you can count on it that I will!" Zarc said.

"But you'll have to pass me first!" Ray announced, her character immediately speeding through the finish line for the last lap to go. Zarc was yet to reach that point.

"Com on, Zarc, catch up!" Yuya shouted from inside Zarc's head.

"Shut up, Yuya! Trying to concentrate!" Zarc grunted.

Ray squinted her eyes as she carefully passed through all the sharp turns, making sure not to fall off. Zarc, however, was still having a little trouble playing the game, considering that his counterparts decided to pop in and provide some not needed commentary.

"Dang it, Zarc! Don't you know how to drive?!" Yugo said.

"This is NOT a D-Wheel, Yugo!" Zarc retorted.

'"EXCUSES!" Yugo replied defiantly.

Yuri chuckled, walking up to his Synchro counterpart. "Well, come to think of it, if he's the main incarnation of us, then if he's so bad at driving...shouldn't you be bad at driving as well?"

Yugo clenched his fists in anger. "What was that, cabbage idiot?"

"Never call me an idiot," Yuri flashed a dark and unnatural smirk, "...Fusion-kun."

"MY NAME IS YUGO, NOT FUSION, BAKA!" He was about to punch the Fusion duelist in the face, but that was when Yuto stepped in to stop the ruckus in Zarc's brain.

"CHILL OUT, YOU TWO!" That yell quickly quieted them, since it wasn't a good idea to make Yuto angry. They learned that the hard way in the past...

Zarv groaned in displeasure. Why couldn't these guys fade into his subconscious like Ray's reincarnations did in her mind?

Or so he thought.

"Take a left...now!" Serena ordered from inside Ray's head, to which she obeyed and jeered the wheel to the left, causing her character to safely speed through the tight bend.

"Serena, since when did you get to be in the driver's seat?" Yuzu inquired, much to her Fusion counterpart's chagrin.

"GAHHH! I FELL OFF AGAIN!" Zarc wailed.

"NOOOO! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO USE THE CLUTCH!" Yugo cried out.

"THERE IS NO CLUTCH, IDIOT!" Zarc retorted angrily, grabbing Ray's attention.

"Uh, Zarc?" Ray started asking, being a little concerned for her boyfriend. "You feeling alright?"

"Sorry, my four pieces are awake now. Seriously, why don't they just fade into my head?" Zarc grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Because we are here to guard your inner evil from taking over you." Yuto said.

"Plus, who else other than your adorable Ray will annoy the heck out of you?" Yuri snickered.

"Which is the LAST thing I needed at the moment," Zarc growled, his character returning to the screen.

Ray chuckled. "I feel bad for him."

Zarc grunted as he gave it his all in high hopes of catching up to Ray. It wasn't easy, but he was not the type of person who would give up so easily or back down from a tough challenge.

"Come on, Zarc. You got this!" Yuya assured, giving him a thumbs up.

"Almost there..." He stuck his tongue out in determination, his eyes flashing red for a moment as his character slowly but surely started accelerating towards Ray's.

Just one more turn...!

Ray smirked as she was almost to the finish line. "Come on, Zarc! You better hurry or you will be my man-slave!"

"Yeah, heck no!" Zarc accelerated his car as much as he could.

They approached the last part of the track, which consisted of a super boost and jump. There was still a chance to mess it all up, and any mistake would cost the rider the game. It was all or nothing at this point.

"I will succeed!" Zarc declared, racing his character towards it.

"No, I will!" Ray sped up hers as well.

They were neck-and-neck. Neither one backed down.

"You're not gonna win, Ray!" Zarc growled with a fiery look in his eyes.

"You think you can beat me!?" Ray growled back as an aura of flames surrounded her.

"I will WIN!" They both declared simultaneously, entering the jump at the same time.

They both pushed forward, beating the buttons continuously, struggling to have one character accelerate over the other. The karts roared in response, zooming through the super jump at high, nigh deafening speed...till they landed roughly, losing a bit of friction before continuing their fast pace down the last leg.

Their blood boiled with resolution. Neither Zarc nor Ray was willing to back down, not with the stakes at hand.

They approached the finish line, still determined to win. They were head-to-head, neck-to-neck, bumper-to-bumper, their racers zooming into each other to knock the other one down and off the track.

The checkered mark was mere inches before them. They pressed the buttons one final time...only to have them both cross over the finish line simultaneously, ending the race and the game with a dreaded tie.

Zarc panted as he slumped on the couch, "Dang it. A tie. I was so close to winning."

Ray rested against the sofa as well, laying down her controller wheel. "Same...well, that was fun."

Zarc chuckled heartily. "Yeah...it was...a shame, though. I had such an awesome idea for your penalty." He smirked at the last part.

Ray raised one eyebrow, a small smile tugging at the ends of her mouth. "Oh? And what were you thinking?"

Zarc smiled, sitting up and leaning over till his face was inches from Ray's. "Take a guess."

"Then this should be an obvious hint for you." Zarc's eyes gained a mischievous spark before his lips met hers in a tingling sensational kiss.

They stared close for a few seconds before parting for air, Ray smiling warmly in the end. Zarc snickered softly.

"So what was your idea? Something about me being a man-slave?" He joked, earning a mock glare from Ray.

"Actually, something even better..." She captured his lips again, much to his enjoyment. Zarc did not hesitate to deepen the kiss and wrap his arms around her.

They eventually parted, breathless but happy in their warm embrace.

"I love you, Ray."

"I love you too, Zarc."

"So...does this mean we both won?"

"I guess so. Though we can have a...'tie-breaker'." Zarc offered seductively, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're really trying to make my father mad, aren't you?" Ray giggled, knowing what Zarc is suggesting.

"It's his fault for trying to threaten me to stay away from you." Zarc pouted.

"But it was still your fault for provoking him in the first place," she laughed, much to Zarc's chagrin.

"Well, I guess I had a small hand in it."

"A SMALL hand?!"

"Okay, okay...a medium-sized one."

"But still, I wanna be together with you for as long as it takes." Zarc said

"Aww, is this really the same Supreme Dragon King Zarc who terrorized all those people a long time ago?" Ray teased.

"Your fault that I changed. Now you gotta deal with my silly antics and sappy lines." Zarc stuck his tongue out.

Ray smiled, pecking on the nose and making him smile. "I can deal with your silly antics and sappy lines any day."

Zarc flashed to her his usual cocky grin. "Well, there's more where that came from."

A/N: The end. Leave a review and kindly give your opinion...Or else Zarc will destroy you. Later.