Being pulled into that, hole, was no other experience. At first it felt as if my body wanted to melt away, as if this was a dream; I quickly realized I was very awake. I looked around but all I could see was that purple haze. Slowly but surly I was able to make out figures. It was everyone else.   

Up ahead I could see the demon. He seemed so relaxed with his evil grin that made my adrenaline pump. Just his existence alone seemed to fill me with a strange feeling.

Then suddenly from the left there was a flash! If I was standing I would have fallen over from the suddenness of it. The demon wasn’t please because his smirk disappeared. I turned and saw it was a steady white light that was trying to follow us.

“No…” screamed the Demon “You shall not have them!!”

He then quickly put his hands to the wall of the tunnel and let out a roar. The walls slowly started turning pitch black to drown out the light. It seemed to flicker for a moment but came back even stronger. The demon howled as he was pushed back way ahead of us by the light.

The light resonated and filled me with such pain. I realized I wasn't the only one as I looked at my friends.

 Screaming, we all were pulled with it into a tunnel of white. I don’t remember much, but it felt as if my body was melting away slowly.

I woke up on a hard surface, my entire body felt numb. I sat up and held my head. My senses slowly started to come back to me. I felt completely different. I started to touch my face and it felt as there was hair all over me. I ran my fingers over my head, and then to my ears, they didn’t feel human. Before I tried to speak the walls started to light up and the room became visible.

I winced at the brightness. I lowered my head and had to squint my eyes. I was finally able to look around. Even though the room was still dim I could see that my clothes were tattered. Sticking out of the holes was more hair than what should be there. I grabbed some of it in a fist and realized it was thick fur.  I looked around and saw other bodies lying there too. I didn’t recognize any of them at all. They too had fur. Were these my friends?

“Ugh…” one of them started to sit up.

The figure had sharp ears that pointed to the heavens and glowing eyes. It was too dark to get any more details. 

“Huh?  What the hell!?” A familiar voice came from the figure that was now frantically searching his body as I had just did.

“Devin!?” I mumbled

“Steve… is that you!?”

“Yea… at least, I think it’s still me.”

“Did you change too?” He replied in a frightful tone of voice.

“Yea… it’s so dark”

          We fell silent and were exploring our bodies some more. It turns out I had very large floppy ears and large furry feet. My fur was light grey and all I could think was… am I a rabbit!? I still couldn’t see Devin.

          A few moments later the other bodies started to move and I recognized all the voices though I couldn’t pin the bodies that matched, the echoes were overwhelming. I was glad though that all my friends that got pulled through that strange portal survived.

As they were discovering the same thing Devin and I came to understand, straight ahead a light that formed a strange symbol started to glow. The room lit up even more and we saw the walls, the ceiling, the floor, and each other. Devin had the appearance of a black jackal. Berto looked like a white Wolf. JD looked was a dark brown bear; and Ross was a red and white fox.  None of us spoke to each other, we just stared at each other. Even though we looked like animals, we still had the body shapes of humans. It was weird.

“Do not be alarmed by your appearance…”

“Who said that!?” barked Berto as he stood up straight

“I am your only ally at this point… please remain calm and listen to what I have to say.”

“First tell us why we’re all like this.” I said with urgency as Berto sat down.

“In your world you would call you appearance that of an Anthropomorphic creature. They don’t exist in your world but in this one it is quite common.”

“You still haven’t told us WHY we are like this” Devin's face spoke his true emotion. Anger

“Be patient… I have put you into your true forms.”

“True Forms!? You mean… were not really human!?” JD said in a desperate tone

“You were human, but your spirits are not. That demon probably told you in someway but you are the reincarnation of our heroes that destroyed his father years ago.”

“So you’re saying that our true selves… these bodies… destroyed a Demon stronger than that one? And somehow our souls ended up on earth?” Ross seemed as if he was struggling to understand. But he got it right on the head, it cleared up everything for us.

“Not just somehow… I sent them there. Thousands of years ago the heroes gave up their material selves to destroy him. With their spirits roaming our planet I gave them the choice to be reincarnated. But many demons still had hatred for them in their black hearts. So I sent them to another dimension to be hidden from the Kingdom of Demons. The Rasetsu Koku.”

“Apparently that didn’t work!” Ross cut-in very sarcastically

“Let her finish Ross…” I felt kind of silly saying that… we all interrupted her after all.

“They were re-born in you. So in essence you are them. But his son found out where I sent you. I was able to bring you here by interrupting your inter-dimensional transport. No doubt that if his son can travel to your world to retrieve you, he can find his way here.”

“You mean he’s on his way here!?” Yelled JD

“Yes that’s why we must act quickly. I shall give you a brief explanation of the powers that have been granted to you…”

          The room was starting to get colder as I started to wish my clothing had survived the trip in one piece. We were all wondering what she was going to say next. None of us uttered a sound…

“As I said before… you are the reincarnation of our Heroes from Zaiban. Before I continue I must give you your real names. Don’t worry about people realizing who you are because the hero’s names were never known, but you must not refer to yourselves as your human names from now on. If you do then the inhabitants will realize you are not from our realm.”

There was a long pause… and we all looked at each other for reassurance.

…

She started again…

“You need weapons to survive in our world. The towns may be secure from roaming beasts but the rest of the land isn’t.”

At first we didn’t take her seriously, but then a light appeared in front of each of us… They slowly formed into recognizable shapes.

“These are the weapons that are a part of you. In other words you are one with them and they are one with you. Using them should come naturally.”

Each of us picked up or weapons and stared at them in awe… they were impressive instruments to hold.

“All of you have innate abilities that your animal counter part gives you. You will discover them in due time…”

…

There was more silence… something was wrong.

I will now give your names, but we are running low on time…

“What do you mean?” Devin said in an extremely irritated voice…

“Devin, your name is Atrissima Lux. You are the jackal that brings life from darkness. Your element is burning fire and your weapon is the Japanese Katana. Use them in perfect harmony and no one can douse your flame. Robert, your name is Kiske Nikoru. The wolf that protects those in his pack, keep your friends close to you. Your element is the growth of nature and your weapons are Tonfa’s. Ross… your name is Raide Mikomi. The fox who is the greatest ally and holds loyalty over all else. Your element is swift Lighting and your weapon the Bow. JD your name is Siln Alderos. The bear that is overpowering and resolute. Your element is that of the earth and your weapon is the battle hammer. And finally. Steven.. Your name is Zeshin Horyuu. The hare who is a seeker of the truth and honor. Your element is ever-flowing water and your weapon a mystical quarter staff.”

As she called our new names I felt as if my old life, my school, all of the bullies, and everything that was familiar to me was slipping away. It was almost sad…

A few silent moments passes as contemplated our new weapons. It was all foreign to me, but somehow I felt comfortable holding the staff. I stood up along with everyone else.

“Now that you have your weapons of the heart, your powers shall be unleashed.”

My face started tingling… I looked around and everyone seemed to be feeling the same thing because there hands were on their cheeks too. A few brief moments later symbols appeared just under the eyes on our cheeks. All of them were different and glowing a different color matching our element. It wasn’t long until they disappeared under the fur.

“So… what should we do now that we..” Siln got cut off by a low rumbling…

We all looked around to see where it was coming from!

“You all must leave now! HE is coming!!”

“You mean he found us already!?” Kiske responded

“How is that possible!? There’s no way in or out of here!” I screamed

Just then the rumbling filled the room almost to a deafening amount. We all covered our ears trying to drown out the noise. The light that was once all around the room was now void from a corner behind us. Out of the darkness came that same hand that started this whole adventure. I hated it yet I was grateful to it at the same time.

“It seems…” he stepped out completely “I finally found you” the demon said with that same smirk on his face.

“I hope you didn’t tell them too much oracle…” He said referring to the glowing light that was now to our backs…

“Your too late Milnores… they are prepared to fight you.” calmly replied the oracle

          ‘So the demon has a name’ I thought to myself. But before they continued there conversation, Milnores rushed to attack. Everyone dodged it and I ran to the side faster than I could have ever done before.

“What was that?” Lux said to me in a concerned tone…

“I guess speed is one of my innate abilities!” I said laughingly

          As the battle proceeded, Milnores seemed to gain more and more speed. We weren’t able to hit, not even once. None the less I was hit and so was everyone else. I don’t remember how long the battle went on but near the end I knew I didn’t have much left in me…

“We can’t continue like this” Raide stated out of breath

“Giving up already!? Zaiban puppet”

          Milnores seemed to have an infinite amount of energy. I couldn’t dodge anymore… I couldn’t move fast enough. I was hit again.

“Zeshin!” they screamed…

I wanted to sleep but I knew I couldn’t just give up. Before darkness surrounded me my face started to tingle again. The symbol on my face was glowing… everyone’s was…

“NO! Oracle… you moved faster than I thought…” he grunted

           I had a burst of energy and Kiske helped me sit up. Everyone was already standing around me… they were ready to protect me.

“It must end here!” Declared Lux

          My face started to tingle again … and I could see everyone’s face had a symbol that was resonating.

“No… I won’t ALLOW IT!!” Milnores tried to run towards us, but that’s when everything became white…

Our energies combined and destroyed everything… I woke up a little while later… I could see the sky. It was raining and we were outside. Weak I stood up and leaned on my staff. My clothes still tattered and I felt the wind blowing in my fur. Everyone was still passed out. We were in the middle of a field… a few trees here and there, but besides that it was grass for miles. I turned around and saw a large temple burning. It wasn’t that far away so I assumed it was where we were thrown from. I turned back to my friends on the floor. One by one they started to awake. So... what are we supposed to do now?