Thelonious Cray

Thelonious Cray

Gender

Male

Age

Unknown

Status

Alive

Hair color

Black

Eye color

Brown

Occupation

CTI agent

Appearances

The 3rd Birthday

Portrayal

Hisao Egawa (Japanese)
Chris Jai Alex (English)

“

Go get her... after all, she's family, isn't she? —Cray to Aya regarding Eve

”

Thelonious Cray is a major character in The 3rd Birthday. He is a former Delta Force Soldier turned CTI member.

Background

Cray was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. At the age of five his parents divorced and he was sent to live with his mother, where he grew up in extreme poverty.

Before coming to work in the CTI, he had been part of the elite Delta Force unit of the US Army, specializing in counterterrorism. Cray was enlisted in Captain Russo's squad, one that undertook only the trickiest and most dangerous missions. Although he's ably equipped for counterterrorism missions, Cray is distinguished by skill in close-quarters combat, which is truly second to none.

Cray ran a hostage rescue mission in the Grand Pacific Airlines hijacking, taking command of the Red Squad as they subdued the hijackers and secured the hostages, bringing the event to its conclusion with no casualties. It was this feat that got him assigned to Russo's squad.

As they racked up more and more victories, Russo's squad became known far and wide as the pride of the Delta Force and the terrorists' biggest threat. All that came to an end with the failure of Operation Red Fog in 2012, Delta Force was annihilated and all squad members were killed in action. Cray was the only survivor of Russo's squad, he hadn't been part of the fatal mission, instead assuming his new post at the CTI.

In the spring of 2002, he married Sandra Smith, an exchange student nurse he had met while in the hospital. Their daughter Isabella was born the following year, her doll-like features of black eyes and blond hair making her one of his biggest weakness. He always takes her for ice cream at the Harvest Town food stall in Chinatown because she won't eat it anywhere else. When he found out the ice cream maker was a pastry chef at a famous Seattle hotel, he began to realize she was a young gourmet at her age and began to worry about her future.

In December 2010, he was invited to the wedding of Aya Brea and Kyle Madigan at Saint Thomas Church in New York City. Prior to the foundation of the CTI, Cray was already close to Aya.

During Time Zero, it is unknown if he became a High One - if Cray is a High One, then he would be the only High One to not be fought against or shown his Twisted form. In Chapter 3, the battle against "awakened" Cray isn't shown in the game because Aya activated her OD skill when Cray's awakening was incomplete. She doesn't get to know the identity of who she killed.

The 3rd Birthday

In Chapter 0 and 1, Cray helps Aya with the basics and calls her "rookie".

During Chapter 2, Hyde Bohr reveals that Cray died in the Spanish Harlem 3 days ago, and it was Aya's mission to save him. After Aya destroyed the Babel on the Harlem, Cray was safe and still alive.

Aya, Eve and Cray.

In Chapter 3, it is shown that Cray was annoyed as to why Aya had to go on the mission on her own and storms out of the CTI Overdive room. As Aya progresses and finally meets Russo, it is shown that Cray killed Russo and the rest of the team to get to "Isabella". However, along with Aya, Cray dove into the Big Orb. Cray is shown to disappear and before he disappeared, he told Aya to find the thing that mattered most to her.

He later appears to a dying Aya Brea in her final battle against Hyde. He asks Aya to dive into him in order to support her.

In the ending, Cray is still alive due to the Twisted not being created as well as his wife and Isabella not being in the car accident.

After the events of the game, Cray and his family lived together on Long Island. After leaving the military, he established a company dealing in agricultural tools and fertilizers, and then started his own successful landscaping business.

Trivia

• In the case file Square Enix sent out, Cray's name is spelled correctly, however, in his ID his name is written as "Clay".

• In his Episode 6 profile, it mentions Sandra and Isabella are deceased in a timeline: "After losing both his wife and daughter on the same day, Cray didn't even realize he was becoming unhinged. His broken heart refused to accept the reality of their deaths, while his grieving mind buried the incident deep in his memory. This is why he believed so fervently that his daughter Isabella had become a Twisted. It had nothing to do with his own transformation into a High One. Cray may have thought he could bring Isabella back to life by reclaiming his right as a father to risk his life in the name of his beloved daughter. That may have been an impossible dream, but trapped as he was in a despair beyond all despair, Cray was suffering from a severe lack of judgment. For a man whose life was essentially one constant brush with death, Sandra and Isabella had been absolute jewels, giving Cray pure, unadulterated delight." Isabella's profile mentions: "A truck went out of control, striking and killing her and her mother on their way home from preschool, Isabella was three years old."
  • Isabella's profile is later updated: "Now four years old, she is happily attending preschool."

• During the ending of Chapter 4, as Cray disappears he says he wanted to have ice cream with his daughter while he looked at the sunset. This is similar to the Kingdom Hearts series in which Roxas eats ice cream at the top of Twilight Town's tower with his friends while watching the sunset.

• Unfortunately, Ben Dollis does not appear in The 3rd Birthday, making it one big missed opportunity - it could be interesting to see an older, adult Ben. However, Cray resembles Ben to a certain extent, and it can be theorized that Cray was once Ben in development. Both Ben and Cray also have divorced parents.

Gallery

Concept art of Cray.

Cray's biography.

Cray telling Aya about the Babel.

Cray telling Aya about the Babel.

Portrait.

Model.

Model.