Cye: What's... what... smell?
Kitty~chan: It smells like... chocolate!! YAAA! *runs into kitchen*
*all run in after her to see Rowen with some chocolate in his hands about to eat it* NOOOOOO!!!! *take chocolate away*
Rowen: Aww! You guys are no fun! Especially you, Kitty~chan. Not only do you spoil my fun with the chcolate, you also don't own any of the Ronin warriors characters! What fun is that?
Kitty~chan: WELL, Rowen-kun, you are terrible at working unrelated subjects into a conversation, and you are a total freak-show when you eat anything with sugar in it, so get over yourself!
Rowen: *smiles dumbly* hehehe
Kitty~chan: Well, things seem to be calming down around here. Read the story, and we'll see where we are after that.
Animals?!
�Mia, are you alright?� came a male voice.
�Who�s there?!� she called, looking around at the swirling colors of the trees.
�Look to your right.� Mia obeyed and eventually focused enough to see Sage supporting a still unconscious Rowen.
�Sage? Where are we?� she looked around and shakily got to her feet.
�I�m not sure. I woke up a little ways from here, and wandered until I found you.� He answered, shifting Rowen�s weight.
�So where�s Ryo? What about Cye and Kento?� Mia wondered.
�I don�t know. They�re probably awake. They disappeared before us.� Sage guessed.
�Yeah. So, like I said, where are we?� Mia slowly turned around in a circle, taking in her surroundings. �It certainly doesn�t look like the Sendai forest.�
They were in a large clearing in the middle of what looked like a rather large forest. Tro their right was a narrow path that lead to who-knows-where.
Rowen stirred on Sage�s shoulder. Sage eased out from under him, allowing him to stand on his own two feet. Rowen stumbled a bit before speaking slowly.
�Are we there yet?� he slurred.
�Yes. We�re here. Where ever here is.� Sage answered.
The snap of a twig and Rowen was awake and alert. All turned as Kento and Cye stumbled out of the bushes.
�Kento! Cye!� Rowen called. The two lifted their heads. �Are you two alright?�
�Yeah! Is Ryo around here? We haven�t seen him since he disappeared.� Kento called back.
�No, but he must�ve landed somewhere around here.� Rowen answered.
�Well, maybe he�s somewhere along this path.� Sage guessed.
�Let�s find out, then.� Kento suggested, already heading for the trail. The rest of the group followed.
The five walked down the dirt path, staring at the beautiful, yet unfamiliar, forest around them. Every once in a while, one would quickly look to the side as something dashed through their peripheral vision. Dismissing it as craziness, none mentioned it at all.
Kento, who was leading, squinted to see a clearing in the distance. In it, he could see a few small huts. �Hey! Look up ahead guys, there�s some kind of village up there. Maybe we can find out where we are.� Kento quickened to a speed walk and the others followed suit.
It was still a good 400 feet to the clearing when a massive form descended on the path in front of them causing them to immediately spot their footsteps. Kento�s eyes widened in amazement as he looked up at the creature bearing down on the group. Before them, standing about eleven feet high was a dragon. It crouched down, spreading its wings to make it look more intimidating. Its blue scales shined in the sunlight that peeked through the trees, its claws showing plainly and its teeth bared dangerously. All five of the Ronins readied themselves for a fight with the creature.
�What are you humans doing here?� it boomed in a thunderous voice.
Kento stepped foreward. The dragon seemed to take this as a challenge and a low growl issued from its throat. �We are going to that village up there to get some help. We�re lost. We need to find our friend and get out of here.�
�No one is allowed there! Certainly not while the young Mistress is playing.� It sneered, the growl starting again.
�Playing?� Cye asked sarcastically.
�Yes, playing! Now leave!� it roared, brandishing its tail.
�Cut it out, Ramses. Let them pass. At least they are still human.� Said a voice from behind them.
The group turned to see a winged cat sitting on the ground, its tail flipping about a bit. Its fur was completely black with a white circle covering one eye.
�Who are you?� Rowen requested of the animal.
�My name is Anthony. I used to be a worker at the Ancient Cemetery.� He replied.
�The Cemetery?! So you�re one of the missing workers? How�d you end up like that?� Cye soke for all of them.
Before the cat could respond, a scream of pain shot through the forest like a bullet. �Hey, that sounded familiar.� Sage noted.
�Well, let�s find out who it is. It came from the village, come on!� Rowen cried as he and the others darted past ramses before the dragon had time to react.
The screams continued as the group made their way through the forest. They arrived at the village and what they saw disgusted them.
Tied to a tall wooden pole by his wrists was Ryo. His shirt, ripped off and in shreds at the base of the pole, and his jeans streaked with blood. His teeth gritted and his eyes closed. What shocked them most was the small girl at the base of the pole. She was small, and would have been cute if not for the insane smile playing on her lips. She had pale blue hair that was held in two large pigtails. Her eyes were large and round of a lavender color. She was laughing hysterically, a long whip held in her right hand. She struck Ryo in the leg with it, drawing another scream of pain from his throat and another streak of blood added to his jeans. He twirled around the pole as the girl laughed once more.
�Ryo! Hey, what do you think you�re doing, you little brat?!� Mia screamed and began running at the girl. In seconds, the two were on the ground, Mia pinning the girl down.
The other guys were quick to act. Kento withdrew his pocketknife and sliced through the rope binding Ryo�s wrists. He wrapped his strong arms around the injured warrior�s chest and gently lowered him to the ground as soon as he landed. Sage quickly scanned the wounds on his leader.
�Sage, can you heal him?� Rowen wondered as Kento laid Ryo flat on his back.
�I hope so.� Sage place his hands gently on Wildfire�s chest and concentrated. His body began to take on an eerie glow and then transferred to Ryo. Soon, the light faded and Sage opened his eyes, panting slightly. �There, that�s all I can do.� Sage sat back and would have fallen had it not been for Rowen, sitting behind him.
Mia got off the little girl and rushed to Ryo�s side. She put an arm under his shoulders and brought him to a sitting position. �Ryo? Ryo, wake up!� Mia cried, gently shaking him.
�That is a very disturbed child. Where did she get it in her mind that that�s fun?� Cye cried.
Ryo�s blue eyes fluttered open. A low moan emitted from his throat. �Ryo, are you all right?� he heard Mia ask, worriedly. Ryo nodded slowly.
�Where are we?� he wondered hoarsely.
�We�re not sure.� Kento�s voice answered from off to the side. Kento then slipped Ryo�s arm over his shoulder so that he could help support him as he stood. Mia stood with them, helping in any way she could.
The young girl recovered from Mia�s attack and stood, a look of pure fury painted on her young features. What surprised the group was the amulet that hung from her neck. It was exactly like the one they had found at the gravesite. �Why did you do that?!� she screamed.
�What? What do you mean, why? We weren�t going to sit around while you whipped our friend to death!� Sage countered.
�I wasn�t trying to hurt him, I was simply playing with him!� she cried.
�If you weren�t trying to hurt him, you failed miserably, brat!� Kento yelled.
�Don�t call me a brat!� her face suddenly relaxed and she even began to smile. �Are you here to play with me?�
�No, we need to get out of here. We need to get home.� Rowen stated bluntly.
�What? But you just got here! Won�t you stay and play with me?� she whined.
"No! We need to get home! We have a meeting with our friends tomorrow and we need to be there when they arrive at our house. We need to get home!� Mia cried, losing her patience.
Apparently, likewise was for the girl. �No! You can�t leave! You have to play with me!� she yelled.
�Look, all we want to do is go home. Now, where are your parents?� Cye asked gently, walking up to her.
�I don�t have parents, you stupid idiot!� she yelled indignantly.
�Really? What�s your name?� Ryo wondered weakly.
�Shori Kensuto.� She stated calmly. �Now enough questions! It�s time to play!�
�What? Shori? But, she�s dead!� Mia exclaimed.
�I am NOT dead! After those people were mean to me, I made my own world to be forever, but you people keep coming. And since you are in my home, you have to do what I say, and I say you have to PLAY WITH ME!!� she screamed. As she continued to yell, the amulet around her neck began to glow intensely. A ball of energy formed in front of the sapphire as Shori put her hands around it. As the glow intensified, she began to mumble under her breath. Suddenly, the energy ball shot out from the amulet and headed straight for Kento.
�Kento! Move! Kento!� Ryo cried, but Kento didn�t budge. Finally a frustrated Ryo shoved Kento out of the path of the energy wave. It struck him head on in the chest and lifted him high into the air.
�Ryo!� cried many voices. Ryo screamed in pain as electricity wracked his body.
�Mia! What�s happening to him?� Rowen wondered frantically.
�Shori�s using the power of the amulet! She�s changing him into something else!� Mia cried over Ryo�s screams.
�Can it be stopped?� Cye wondered.
�Yes, but only if she is still in the process of citing the incantations themselves.� Mia answered.
All heads turned to Shori who stood silent, watching as the energy wave stopped flowing from the amulet leaving the glow surrounding Ryo�s body. The five watched in horror as Ryo was transformed into something completely different. His fingers and toes fused and shortened to form paws, his face lengthened slightly to form a short muzzle, and whiskers covered his now furry cheeks. His ears shifted to the top of his head and a tail sprouted from behind as red and white fur covered his long body. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Mia inched her way over to Ryo and set his now large head in her lap. Ryo was a tiger. She looked him over. He looked a lot like White Blaze with two major differences. Where White Blaze had black stripes, Ryo had red fur running down his body, and on his chest, Ryo had a black circle with the red character, Virtue on it.
�What have you done to him?� Kento cried, enraged. He lunged at her. He no longer cared that she was a young girl, no one did that to a friend and got away with it.
Shori put her hands around the amulet and concentrated. An energy beam shot out right away as she began chanting once again. It hit Kento square in the chest, and this time he was the center of attention as his body began to change. The same process began once again. However, instead of white and red fur, light brown fur covered his body and a darker mane covered his head and upper body. He fell to the ground and after attempting to get up, blacked out.
Rowen was about to get up when she shot a beam at him. His arms lengthened and turned to giant wings, a beak replaced his mouth and nose, and his toes lengthened and fused to form clawed talons. Feathers covered his body as he lost consciousness.
Sage leapt to charge the girl when she stopped him with a beam of energy. His fingers and toes fused to form hooves. Hair grew down his lengthened neck and from behind. His face grew longer to form a long muzzle and wings exploded from his back. His eyes closed as he hit the solid ground. Cye didn�t have time to move before Shori sent an energy beam his way.
Ryo�s eyes fluttered open for the second time that day. The first thing he saw was the energy flowing into Cye�s body. Ryo got up as best he could and ran straight at the two. A cry of rage sounded in the forest, however, it didn�t come out like he expected it to. Instead, it came out as a loud roar as he would hear from White Blaze. Ryo tackled the girl, knocking her out and leaving her lying a few feet away.
�Thanks, Ryo.� Cye sighed, propping himself up by his elbows. Ryo turned to see the new Cye. He looked pretty normal, until his waist, that is. Instead if legs, a long fin grew out of Cye�s body, covered in new, aqua colored scales. Also, on his bare chest was a black circle with the light blue kanji, Trust on it.
�Ok, what happened?!� Kento demanded, trying to stand up on his paws, but failing.
�You�ve all... become... animals!� Mia cried.
�We�re really animals?� Sage wondered, looking himself over. �Walking on four legs will definitely take some getting used to.� The minute this was said, Sage toppled over onto his side
�Yeah, we�re all animals, but we can still talk?� Kento wondered, playing with his headband.
�It seems so. Your minds must still be human.� Mia said happily. �Well, Cye is at least half human.� Cye stuck out his tongue. �Hmmmm...� Mia looked the bunch over and pointed to each of them. �Ryo the tiger, Rowen the eagle, Sage the Peguses, Kento the lion, and Cye the merman. This will take some getting used to.�