Darkness swallowed up the city in a moonless night. Behind the clouds, not even a stare shone. Even a large amount of the city lights seemed to be off or dimmer than usual. A trashcan crashed to the ground, and a yowl from a cat was heard. A figure in the dark jumped and curled up to a wall in the dark ally.

i'Why did I leave?'/i she thought, here eyes tightly shut. i'I knew I'd get lost, why did I leave? Mad will be so angry with me...'/i the girl imagined her 'mentor' yelling at her, his accent thickening with rage.

"'Ow DARE you leave for so long! 'Ow do you expect to amount to anythin' if you aren't even 'ere?" he would shout. "I'd 'it you with me cane if I weren't scared yer thick skull would break it!" Should she go back? Even if she found out how, could she face him?

i'Of course I'll go back,'/i the girl got up and, reluctantly, continued to walk. Into the streetlight now, her features were revealed. A spiked collar glinted in the light, along with a necklace saying 'Evil' in fancy, red text. A black tee shirt was covered by a jacket that looked like the English flag. Her light blue, old jeans seemed to be covered with a light layer of dirt. Black tennis shoes hardly clicked on the sidewalk.

As for her looks, she had deep, brown eyes that seemed to serious, and long, thigh-length, braided hair. It was a dark chocolate brown, but given a gold hue in the light. Her skin was awfully pale, as if she rarely went outside. This was Cassidy.

A crash from behind her snapped her back to reality. Turning around, she laid eyes on a shadow vanishing into the blackness. Cassidy stood ridged. She hated being alone. She hated being scared. Swallowing her fear, she took a step towards where she had seen the shadow.

"Who's 'ere!" she tried to keep her voice even, but her newly acquired accent was making it hard. "Show yerself!" A snarl came from the darkness, and Cassidy took a step back. "O-or we could leave each oth'a alone, righ'?"

"Hairless ape," a voice growled. White eyes shone within the shadows, and yellow hued teeth glinted along with them. Walking out from the darkness, a massive lion wearing metal armor with a blue hue snarled at her. His mane was massive and black, unlike any lion Cassidy had ever seen. The tips of his ears and tail were also black.

He was muscular and huge. A good ten feet in length, and he probably weighed more than four-hundred pounds. What was he? Cassidy felt like this lion was familiar, but how?

The girl snapped out of her trance when she saw the beast rear up- no, istand/i on his hind legs and look down at her. He had no pupils or irises. Cassidy stared into blank, white eyes. Without warning, his massive paw, with claws unsheathed, slashed down at her. Cassidy barely managed to dodge, hitting the streetlight as she did so.

i'Smooth,'/i she almost scolded herself aloud, but quickly realized she had a hostile monster lunging at her. If she could time this just right-

SLAM!

Right into the pole, his head making a horrible cracking noise. It took everything Cassidy had to not laugh. But again, the beast turned to her, white eyes glaring.

i'Without any pupils or irises,'/i Cassidy thought, i'I can't read him. Time for the blunt approach./i "'Oo are you?" her voice shuddered. "Whut do you want from me?" The lion, dark, tawny fur slightly ruffled, simply grinned.

"Nothing you can't give," again, he lunged at her. But this time, Cassidy was ready for it. The monster stopped dead in his tracks as he came face to face with an old threat to his and all other species- a snake. Her braided hair, though she didn't like to use this power, could mimic the form of a snake, fangs and all. A python, perhaps.

If Cassidy new anything about animals (and, since she studied them quite frequently, new something), it was that imost/i of them have a fear of snakes, or things resembling a snake. But not this time. The beast charged at her, claws nearly shredding the cement beneath them. Frozen in fear, the girl was knocked over and onto the cold ground. A high-pitched scream escaped her, and she struggled helplessly for freedom.

Trapped beneath his massive paws, looking up into those blank eyes… i'I can't go like this!'/i His fanged jaws opened and-

WHACK!

Spinning around, the beast stared down the barrel of an overly-enlarged gun. His paw lifted from Cassidy and turned to swat it away with one, mighty blow, but as fast as he did, it disappeared. From the dark, a cane slammed down on the monsters nose.

"Who's there?" it yelled, standing up and looking around angrily. "Show yourself and fight me!" but his only reply was a round of creepy, maniacal laughter. As the beast jumped to where he thought he'd seen movement, Cassidy stood up and grabbed a board. Someone must've failed at throwing it out, because it was laying next to a trash can, rather than in it. With great effort, she swung the large board, and chucked it at the back of his head.

THUMP! CRACK!

The lion flinched, and the board broke and fell in two on the ground. A rock was thrown, hitting him square in the muzzle. Talking a step back, roaring angrily, he fell victim to an old trick- Cassidy had tripped him by tying one part of her hair to the streetlight, and pulling it tight to make a tripwire. Once on his back, more rocks pelted him, and again a cane swung down on his nose.

The fighting tactics weren't what one would call 'epic' or 'amazing', but they worked, none the less. After another few hits in the face by the cane, and a bite from the hair-snake, the beast, fed up with the fight, turned tail and stalked off into the shadows.

Sadly for Cassidy, the fight wasn't over.

KLUNK!

A cane whapped her across the back of her head, sending her stumbling forward and falling to her knees. The lion wasn't the one she needed to fight at all. It was her mentor.

Mad Mod.

"BLOODY 'ELL, CASS!" he near screamed. "WHUT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOIN'!" The girl looked up at him, towering over her even more so now that she was on the ground. She shrunk back.

"'Am sorry, sir, I-"

"Go' lost? iAccedently/i ran into trouble? I can't save your sorry arse all the time!" he pressed the end of his cane into her collar bone. "I'll 'ave great fun in beatin' you senseless for this." Her mentor swung his cane across her face, but she pulled back in time to avoid the full force.

"It's no' my fault! I don' know this ci'y at all!" she snapped, gritting her teeth. Mad Mod obviously didn't want to hear 'excuses' from her, making it apparent by slamming his cane down onto her chest. This momentarily knocked the wind out of her, only to recover and meet a hard hit to the face by the jeweled-side.

Without thinking, Cassidy jumped up, being stabbed in the stomach by the bottom of his cane. Angrily, she swiped at him, catching a part of his jacket and grabbing tightly onto it. The girl managed to squirm away from the cane that had been firmly placed in her gut, and threw a solid punch to his chest. Not that she knew how to punch anymore. Cassidy didn't have the heart to really itry/i to hurt him. Did he?

Probably more than she did. It took him only a moment to recover, swinging his cane at her head. Cassidy tried to duck, but failed, stumbling sideways at the impact. Mod swung his cane again, this time, into her ribs. Falling to the pavement, Cassidy struggled to breath. She hadn't been in a fight like this since sometime in fifth grade. But she remembered some of the things she'd learn- Cassidy wouldn't fight fair with anyone.

Staggering back to her feet, Cassidy threw herself at her mentor. Mad Mod, being as twiggy and thin as he was, had been taken aback by the weight, and struggled to stay standing. Eventually, she wrestled him to the ground. With great effort, she took a hold of his cane with both hands, and wouldn't let go. Without warning, Mod's knee slammed into her stomach, causing her to hack and cough, and knocking the wind out of her. She wouldn't win this. She couldn't win this.

But if she didn't try, what would that prove to her mentor?

"HEY, OI- ACK?" Mad Mod yelped as her teeth met the area just under his shoulder. "THAT'S NO' A FAIR MOVE!"

"VILLAINS FIGHT FAIR?" Cassidy yelled, muffled by the fabric and arm in her mouth. Still writhing on the cement, Mod managed to land his cane solidly on her spine, making her shriek in pain and let go of his arm. Her knee slammed into his stomach, but it hardly seemed to effect him. She repeated this countless times, and eventually he began to cough and sputter, trying to shove her off him. Eventually, they both parted, managing to sit about a meter away from each other, exhausted.

Neither took their eyes off each other, waiting for the other to attack again. Panting, their fight became a stare down. Finally, Mad Mod grinned.

"You'd make a fine villain, my duckie," he teased, hitting her lightly on the arm with his cane. Cassidy couldn't help but smirk, then- "ACH?" her mentor thudded to his side, curled up into a ball from his apprentices kick. His eyes were almost tearing up as he spoke, "Y… you'll... pay… for… that…" Cassidy finally gave up, letting out a half-hearted laugh.

"I'll make you your tea tomorrow to make up for it," she grinned.

"If… you're still… alive to… do… so…" Mad Mod squeaked, trying pathetically to stand back up. The girl's smug look rivaled his own when he won, though she knew this wasn't 'winning'. This was cheating. Still, to get back at her mentor like that… priceless.