Jake woke up from under the trees with a yawn. "Now you're awake?" Shade said as he stretched out his wings, and folding them back.

"How long was I sleeping?" Jake asked rubbing his eyes and getting up. "Only God knows.." Shade mumbled. Jake grinned and patted his head before walking down to the city streets. "It looks like Earth... but it doesnt feel like it." he said looking around.

"For the hundredth time, this isnt Earth, Jake." Shade said walking besides him.

"I know that, I just said it looked like it..." he replied, stuffing his hands in his pocket.

Where am I? Archer thought, sitting up from off the ground, blinking her eyes several times to clear her vision.
Good, Archer jumped; she didn't expect a response... this was supposed to be just her thoughts, wasn't it? You're finally awake. Archer looked around, trying to find the source of the strange voice in her head. She felt something move around her neck, there was a slight weight over her chest. She looked down, and stared straight into the eyes of a huge black snake.
"Whoa!" Archer spushed herself back against a tree, her eyes wide in disbelief. Somehow, the snake seemed to be attached to her; looking up with a somewhat gentle expression, as if it really cared about her and would go to the end of the planet for her. Somehow, after taking a good look at the snake, she felt the same way. Because it wanted her to.

Archer gently laid a hand on the snakes' skin, it felt hard and yet soft and sleek at the same time. So, who are you, and where am I? Archer asked inside her head.

Well, I am your guardian, though we are usually called pets. The voice asnwered.

Okay, stop right there; We? Whose 'we'? The snake flicked out it's tongue, tickling Archer's palm. There are others like me, but we aren't all snakes.

Gotcha, Archer though, nodding her head to show she understood, And what should I call you?

Whatever you want my name to be. Archer pursed her lips, trying to think of a good name.

"Uhhh," She said. "Oh! I got it! Doozie!" The snake looked a little skeptical (if that's possible for a snake...), but it didn't protest.

As you wish, it said in her mind. Archer stroked it one more time, forgetting all about the question of where they were. She stood up, and walked towards the light out of the trees. She found herself at the edge of a cliff.

"Well, Doozie, what do we do now?"

"I wonder if I'm the only one here.." Jake thought outloud.

"Mmm.. not possible. I dont think you alone can make it out of here alive." Shade answered, swinging his two tails.

Jake gave him a look, "What's that supposed to mean...?" he asked as he moved his hands behind his head. Shade didnt answere, he just continued to walk. It was weird how Jake got used to Shade so easily. As far as he knew, he's only been here for about 5 days.

************************************************************************************************************************************

"Where the hell am I...?" Jake mumbled as he got up, rubbing his head. "Ah, damn, I think I hit my head or something." he said to himself as he looked around. "I see you're awake now.." A voice said. "Yeah... wait, whos there?" Jake asked looking around once more. A wolf... with wings landed in front of him from above. "You should always make sure you look all directions, even up at the sky. You never know where your enemy will attack from." the creature said walking towards him.

"Whoa, stay away from me... wait... this must be a dream. Yeah this is just a dream... with... flying wolves?" Jake said outloud. The creature snorted, "Are you humans all like this? Anyways, this isnt a dream. It's reality." it said swinging its two tails around. Strangely... Jake believed him. He wanted to think this was a dream.. but it wasnt. This was... real.

"What's your name anyways?" he asked looking at the creature. "I have no name... until you give me one. And come to think about it, arent you supposed to introduce yourself first and then ask for the others name?" the creature said as if he was trying to teach Jake some manners. "Give me a name, I'll have to be your pet, and help you to survive in this world." he said a bit impatiently.

"Come to think about it, where is this place... no it looks like Earth. I am on Earth...." Jake started to mumble. "This isnt Earth." the creature snapped. "It may look like it, but it's not. Those other humans there arent real. They might act and speak like one, but they are not real. There's monsters, creatures, and other deadly things out here. You human alone cant live in this world.." Jake stared at the creature with a blank expression. "I... think I'm going crazy." he said before sitting down again. "What is your name anyways?" the creature asked sitting down as well.

"Jake... Jake Ferguson..." he answered.

"Well, nice to meet you Jake.. now what would you like to name me? We dont have time to sit here talking. I need to tell you a bunch of things. Hurry up and give me a name."

Jake thought for a moment, "Shade... hows that?" he asked. Shade nodded, "Yeah, it's a pretty fair name. Now come along..." he said walking off.

******************************************************************************************************************************

Jake chuckled at the memory. "What you laughing at?" Shade asked looking at him. "Oh... nothing much... just remembered the time we first met." he answered with a smile.

Archer looked at the snake expectantly hanging around her neck. Curl into a ball, or as close to a ball as you can get, the snake instructed.
"Ummm, okay..." She said, wondering how that would work. "Wait a second, do you even know my name?"
No, The voice inside her head said.
"Okay, well my name's Archer Sanverga." She clarified.
You're stalling, Doozie said.
"Yeah, I know." Archer huffed, sitting down, she pulled her knees into her chest, watching as Doozie slipped off from around her neck. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and tucked her head down. She felt Doozie start to wrap himself around her, he was a pretty thick snake, so his body around hers made like an outer structure that kept her tucked in her ball-like stature.
So, will this work? Archer asked.
I'm here to help you survive, the snake said gently, Not kill you on your first day; well, it isn't your first day... you've actually been out a good five.
What? Archer thought in alarm, I've been asleep for five days? Archer felt Doozie's grip tighten around her. It somehow made her more comfortable.
Ready? He asked, changing the subject. Archer shrugged.
I guess....
Fall onto your side, Doozie ordered. Archer shifted her weight to the right. she knew she fell over, but she didn't feel a thing, just Doozie where his body coiled around her, and air where he did not.
Roll forward, Doozie told her. Archer shifted her weight, inching forward, and then she felt herself drop over the edge. She felt herself and Doozie hit off of the side of the rocky cliff face, rolling rapidly, but didn't feel anything physically touch her. Then she felt herself hit solid ground again, she felt stalks of grass brush against her as she started to slow down. Finally, they came to a halt.
That was crazy! Archer thought, her heart beating faster and her adrenalin rising. Archer heard a sound like a laugh, but in a kind of hiss. A snake's laugh. She felt Doozi move as he started to unwind. She stretched out her legs, taking a deep breath.
"You okay?" She asked Doozie.
I am unharmed, and you seem to be as well. The snake noted.
"Nice vocab," Archer teased, "Very advanced."
Yeah, real cute, Doozie commented sarcastically.
"So I've been told." Archer said, laughing. She stood up, bending down to pick up Doozie. He crawled up her arm, resting his head on her shoulder, the rest of his body coiled around her arm, his tail hung limply.
She walked absentmindedly, into what looked like a normal city. She saw someone else walking ahead of her, with a wolf. The wolf had two tails, and large, white feathered wings.
Is that another person and their pet? Archer wondered.
Yes, it is. Doozie confirmed, Shall we try and talk to them? It'd be good to have a companion, other then myself. Archer nodded. She ran towards the boy, his back was turned to her.
"Hey!" She called, "Hey, you!"

Jake jumped as some called out to him. He spinned around to see a girl with a snake. "Oh, what do you know, there's another human here with their pet." Shade said as he spreaded out his wings. "Shade, shut up." Jake whispered. "Um, hi." he said to the girl. "Hello miss." Shade said with a small wolf like grin. He folded his wings back, and looked at Jake, "Why dont you introduce yourself? You'll need a friend, trust me."

Jake scratched his head, "Hey.. my name's Jake. Nice to meet you." he said doing what Shade told him to do. What the hell was he doing listening to a wolf? Shade looked up at the two, "And my name is Shade..." he said with one flap of his wing. "I hope we can get along well."

Archer smiled warmly.
"I'm not hard to get along with. The name's Archer." She gestured towards the snake on her shoulder. "This is Doozie."
Yeah okay, now I'm sure there's something wrong with you, and you're not just being human. He name's his pet a good name like Shade, and you call me Doozie? What kind of injustice is that? Doozie said indignantly in her head.
Yeah, yeah, shut the heck up. Archer thought, glaring at her pet, they locked eyes for a couple moments before Archer laughed at the stupidity of it all.

"So. I've begun to establish that this certainly isn't Earth." Archer said, scratching her head. "What I don't know is, if this is not Earth, where the heck am I?" She felt Doozie shift his weight on her shoulder.

"It's an unknown world." Shade answered as he circles around Jake. "This world isnt named, nobody knows who runs it." he said with a small yawn. "Now, I dont think this is a good place to talk... we should move somewhere else. We are in the middle of the street after all." he said as he started to walk off. "Hey, dont just walk off alone." Jake said walking after him. Shade turned his head to look at them and sighed, "Hurry up..."

They walked into an empty house. "Are you sure we're allowed to just in here?" Jake asked looking around the house. "Are you doubting me?" Shade asked as he hopped onto a couch and layed down with his wings neatly folded against his side. "No... well... maybe.." Jake answered truthfully. "So Doozie... did you get to tell your human anything about us pets?" Shade asked, ignoring Jake's answer.

"You mea about you guys materializing into weapons?" Jake asked as he took a seat besides him. "Yes... that." Shade answered resting his head on the couch.

"Oh, okay... Yeah, I've heard it's not the best thing to stand in the middle of a road," Archer muttered. How could nobody know who ran the place? How could it not have a name. Archer jumped when Doozie spoke... out loud.
"Actually, I haven't talked about it yet," He answered, lifting his head off Archer's shoulder.
"You can talk aloud?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Well, yeah." Doozie said, looking at her as if she was stupid. Archer looked at him with the same expression, then smiled and turned back to the conversation. "But I guess now'd be a good time to talk about it. Archer's been out for the past five days, and apparently Jake came to a bit earlier."
Have you told me nothing? Archer thought angrily. Doozie looked at her.
I didn't think it was a good time, Doozie said quickly. Archer crossed her arms.
I'll show you "the right time". She fumed angrily.
Yeah, I'm sure you will. Doozie said calmly.
"Anyway, Archer here probably has got no idea what we're talking about," Doozie began.
"No, I really don't." Archer cut in with an accusing tone of voice.
"So I think we've got some explaining to do," Doozie finished.

"You were out for 5 days? Wow.. and I thought this guy over here sleeps a lot." Shade said looking at Archer and Doozie. "You really didnt have to add that in..." Jake muttered. "Oh, and Shade explained to me earlier.. when I first met him. All pets are able to materialize into their weapon form. They also have different abilities. It helps them fight off monsters." Jake answered instead of Shade. "I already got to see Shade's weapon form, and I all I need to do is learn how to use it.."

"Oh, and trust me, you'll need a lot of practice." Shade said shaking his head.

"How do you know about that?" Jake asked a bit offended.

Shade looked at him and got up. He materialized into his weapon form, which was a large scythe. "AH!" Jake yelled as he grabbed the scythe before the blade reached his face. The scythe went back to being the normal Shade, "This is how I know.." he answered.

"That's not fair, you materialized in a flash... I had no time to react." Jake said with a small sigh.

"Well, then get fast reactions."

"Easy said than done.."

Kaeleigh blinked open her eyes, and stared unseeingly at green leaves and brown branches. "Where am I.."

"You're in a tree Kaeleigh. As am I."
"What the-!?!" Kaeleigh whipped her head around in the direction of the voice, now being able to clearly reconize she was in a tree. Beside her on the opposite branch sat a massive owl. Its feathers were red and orange, and were on fire. "This pushes normality. Even for me." Yet she didn't freak out.
Kaeleigh sat on the branch, her legs dangling towards the ground below.

"Call me Echo. I am your guardian, and your pet."
"What do I need you for?" Kaeleigh rubbed the back of her head, and groaned. "How long was I out?"
"About 5 days. Why? And you need me because things are not as they seem here. Always be on guard."
"..Okay. I shall." Kaeleigh hopped down from the tree, and landed with a thud and an oomph. She stood up, and dusted off her jeans. Across the road, she could clearly make out, two other 'beings' with odd pets, similar to hers.

Echo flew down from the tree, and landed on Kaeleigh's shoulder, yet his fire didn't burn her at all.
"They are like you Kaeleigh."

Archer jumped when Shade turned into a gigantic scythe.
"Anyone would be scared if they're pet just turned into a large bladed weapon that goes towards their face.... it's common sense." Archer put in. Archer turned to Doozie on her shoulder.
And yours? She thought, raising an eyebrow. Doozie slithered off her arm, and then, he wasn't a snake anymore. Next to her was a long, black sword. The handle shaped like a snake's head, with two rubies where the eyes would be. The blade was a long, twisting spiral that ended at the tip. She picked it up, getting a feel for the sword in her hand. She put her legs apart in the same stance she'd been taught for badminton and tennis and such, except she had the swprd pointing up, in front of her face at about a sixty degree angle.
"Nice." She breahted, lookin at the black metal. The sword had to be just as long as Doozie's snake form. Needless to say, it was a pretty awesome sword.
Yes, I know, Archer felt Doozie, a snake again, slither up her arm. His voice in her head sounded very smug.
Self absorbed, much? Archer thought sarcastically.
I think I've earned the right, He replied, his tone unchanged. Archer rolled her eyes.
"So," Archer asked curiously, "Do all of the pets and their humans start out like this?"

"Pretty much." Shade answered with a small nod.

"One more question... what are we supposed to eat?" Jake asked leaning back on the couch.

"What you humans normally eat. I'm a wolf so I eat whatever a wolf eats... common sense." he answered swinging his two tails to the side. "So, there's human food here?" Jake asked looking at him. Shade just nodded and rolled onto his back, careful not to hurt his wings. Jake rubbed his stomach, like he was a normal dog. Shade's tails wagged, hitting the side of Jake's legs.

"Come to think about it... I havent eaten anything.." Jake said putting a hand on his stomach.

"Ok, then we can go get something to eat later. Right now... I want to rest." Shade said rolling back over and closing his eyes.

"Who was the one who kept complaining I slept too much..?" Jake mumbled. Shade didnt answer, he seemed to be asleep already.

Archer smiled amusedly.
"Yes, but while you were sleeping, he was keeping watch for five days," Doozie noted. "Just like this one." He gestured towards Archer. Archer turned her head and glared at him.
"Watch it, or I'll chuck you into the woods," Archer threatened.
"I'd love to see you try." He said, "We're mentally connected, the bonding was complete the moment you came into this world."
"Yeah... and?" Archer raised an eyebrow. Doozie sighed.
"Which means that we're stuck with each other."
"Shoot." Archer muttered, snapping her fingers. Doozie laughed his snakey laugh. Archer flicked him on the head.
Ouch! He shouted in her head. Archer yelped and brought her hands to her ears.
"Don't scream! I can hear your thoughts for Pete's sake!" Archer cried, scolding the snake. Doozie hissed.
Shut up! Stop your stupid hissing! You're going to wake up Shade! She thought. Doozie fell silence. Archer blinked crossly, annoyed at her new pet.

Alyss stirred, she had been asleep quite awhile. She looked up at the sun and guessed that it was about noon, she stretched and stood. 'Where am I?' She wondered. Alyss started to walk around a little until she heard a huge gusting noise comming from behind, when she spun around, she saw a huge bird with a lion's body. She dove into the bushes and waited, hoping what ever it was, wouldn't find her.

"Come out here little one," Came a male's voice, it almost sounded human, "I know you're behind that bush right there."

Alyss peeked out and saw no one but the gryphon, ok, she was going crazy, there was no way a creature could speak, "Who are you and why don't you show yourself?!" She called out.

The gryphon rolled it's eyes, "I don't have a name, you have to give me one, and you have already seen me, now come out I won't hurt you." It said watching the spot that she was at.

Alyss slowly stood up and walked over to the gryphon, "Why are you on Earth? What do you want from me? And why do I have to name you?" She asked in one breath. She was about to continue when the gryphon put it's paw over her mouth.

"That's enough child, "This is not Earth, this world does not have a name, but it's filled with evil, there are other humans here that you need to help you on your journey, you cannot make it out of here without them. You have to name me, because you are my master and I am your pet. Secondly I am only here to help you, that is all." The gryphon replied.

She studied it for a long time, "I'll call you Blaze because of your red wings. Also, where do I find these other humans?" She asked.

Blaze watched her, "I do not know, but if we walk, I'm sure that we will run into them at one point or another."

Alyss nodded and together they started to walk, hoping and praying that they would meet some body soon.

"Well, are there any more of us here?" Jake asked, just to start a conversation. Now that Shade was asleep he really had nothing to do. Archer and her pet seemed to argue a lot just like he and shade does. He leaned his head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. He started to wonder why they were chosen to come here. Was there a meaning to it? Or was it just a random pick? Jake letted out a small sigh before looking at Doozie so he can answere his first question. Hopefully he knew.

Eric groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. Every inch of his body ached, as if he had been exercising all night long. "When did my bed get so freakin' hard?" he mumbled to himself. As he looked at his surroundings, he noticed that he was, in fact, not in his bed, but rather in the middle of an empty road. It was at this point Eric noticed something strange. His entire body was engulfed in flames. He sat there, dumbfounded for a moment before he started screaming. Seeing no bodies of water around, Eric rolled along the asphalt wildly, trying to extinguish the flames.
"Relax, little human. The flames will not hurt you," a voice announced from nowhere. "They are merely a ward I set to protect you,
Eric searched the scene for the source of the voice, but saw no one. "Who's there?" he feebly called out. Suddenly, the flames around him disappeared, and a hawk-sized bird materialized in front of him. Eric stared in awe at the magnificent red and gold feathers that covered the bird. Its golden eyes semmed to pierce his soul.
"What are you, and what do you want from me?" he asked, not expecting an answer.
"I am a phoenix, and my job is to protect you at all costs. You may name me if you like, for I am your pet and guardian."
Eric jumped as it replied. "All right, a name," he thought out loud. "Oh, I know! How about Pyrus?"
"Sounds good to me," the bird agreed. "Now, put me on, we must find the others."
"What others? and how do I-" Eric started. In a flash of fire, Pyrus transformed into a beautiful pair of red leather gloves. They had intricate golden patterns on them that could only be described as runes.
Eric quickly donned them. "Now concentrate on flying. Imagine wings unfurling, the wind in your hair," Pyrus instructed in Eric's head.
The boy did as he was told, and to his surprise, Two magnificent flaming phoenix wings erupted painlessly from his shoulder blades, reaching an impressive wingspan of eighteen feet. In a flurry of feathers, Eric took off like the wings had been there all his life. From his high vantage point, he could see a small group of people in the distance. As he got closer, he saw a wolf change into a scythe and a snake turn into a sword. Eric lost his concentration at these wondrous feats, and suddenly his wings disappeared.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" he screamed while he plummeted towards the ground. "CONCENTRATE!" Pyrus dictated from his mind.
"I'M TRYING!!!" Eric yelled over the rushing wind. He managed to grow the wings again, but it was too late- the ground was closing in fast. Eric shielded his face as impact became imminent. Flames engulfed him once more as he crashed into the ground only five yards away from the group of people.

Archer turned around, Doozie gripping tighter on her arm.
"Doesw that answer your question?" He asked Jake.
"Don't look so smug," Archer said, "That kid could be hurt!" She said, running over to the boy in the street. She knelt down.
""Oh jeez he's on fire!" Archer cried. "Is there water anywhere nearby?"
Not that I know of, Doozie answered.
"Oh gosh!" She said, afraid to approach the flames. "What do I do?" She asked, turning to her snake.
I don't know. I don't think the flames are dangerous to him, though. Doozie said. Archer bit her lip.
"I hope not," She mumbled.

The fire lifted away from Eric's body as the ornate gloves disappeared. Pyrus formed in front of him. "Eric!" he exclaimed. "Are you all right! Speak to me!"
Eric slowly sat up, massaging his sore neck. "Ow," he groaned. "that was... SO AWESOME!" He jumped up, grabbing Archer by the shoulders and shook her wildly. "I was like- like a comet! Did you see all the fire?!! It was so cool!" Then Eric noticed everyone was staring. "Heh... sorry," he said embarassed. He quickly let go of Archer, his face flushing as red as Pyrus' feathers. Pyrus had since backed off and sights deeply. "This," he spoke up, "is Eric, my master and ward. May we know your names?"

"Yup that answers my question." Jake said getting up. Shade jerked his head up and looked around, "What was that? What happened. Jake explain to me right now!" he said jumping off the couch with him. Jake pointed across the street. "Oh a new human." Shade said as he glided over. Jake watched as the flames disappeared from the guy, and listened at the bird intoduced him. "My name's Jake, and this is Shade." he said introducing himself to them.

"Hi Jake, Shade," Eric said, nodding to each of them respectably. "You know, this place is really strange. One night, I'm sleeping in my bed, and the next thing I know, I'm laying, on fire, in the middle of an abandoned road, with a creature that shouldn't even exist!" He glanced toward Pyrus. "No offense intended."
"None taken," the Phoenix replied.
"So," Eric continued, "Where are we?"

"I dont know either. Shade said this is an unknown world. It was never named, and nobody knows who run this place." Jake answered with a shrug. "Stange thing is, I'm getting pretty used to this place... Anyways, can we get some food now?" he asked with a sigh. Shade nodded, "Ok, ok we'll eat." he said looking around for a store. "I thought these people arent real. How are we going to get food?"

"I said they are not real humans. I never said they werent anything." Shade answered with a small grin. "Dont worry the food arent harmful, they'll probably taste the same as it does in the real world."

"Great, I'm starving!" Eric said, his stomach grumbling. "And what do you mean they aren't 'real humans'? Pyrus didn't mention anything about that!"
Pyrus turned to face Eric. "Sorry, I forgot. Basically, because this is a different world than your Earth, a different race of people inhabit it. They look and act almost exactly like the denizens of your world, but they are different beings. Fortunately, their taste in food is similar to that of your kind."
"Oh," Eric deadpanned, still processing the information in his mind. "Well, that was informative. So, where is the nearest store, Shade?"

"I dont know. Did you ever see a wolf going to a store and buying food. I usually hunt what I eat." he said as he just started to ealk randomly around. "Shade... you said you're suppose to guard me and guide me through this world.. but right now, you're not doing such a great job.." Jake pointed out following him.

"Well... excuse me for being such a bad partner." he said as if he didnt care. "Oh there's a store. Maybe we can get some food from there." he said trotting over.

Jake looked around the store, "Uh, anyone here?" he called out as he poked his head into the store. Shade grabbed his shirt and dragged him back. "Dont be so reckless Jake, anything can be in there."

"He's right, you know," Pyrus piped in from Eric's shoulder. "Not all creatures in this world are as... benevolent as we are. Some of them are dangerous."
"Dangerous as in how?" Eric inquired. "Like thriller level dangerous, or horror level dangerous?"
"Well lets just leave it at 'man-eating', Eric," Pyrus answered, not even blinking. Eric remained silent after that, his eyes wide open in fear. "Now, enter slowly, we'll protect you if there's trouble," the bird continued. Eric slowly inched into the shop, the others following right behind him.

Shade walked in, in front of Jake. Being as careful as possible, Jake walked in looking around. "Nobody's here. Lets just grab some food leave money on the counter and get out of here." he said looking at Shade. Jake walked over to where the food was. The store was pretty small, yet it was dark. Jake bent down to see what was there and stood up bumping his head on something. "Ow, damn it Shade dont be flying around in here." he said rubbing his head. Shade stared at him from where the entrance was. "What are you talking about. I'm not an idiot who flies around in a small store like this." Jake blinked and slightly tilted his head back. A pair of eyes stared back at him and a low growl came. "Hey... maybe... another one of us is here... with their pet.." Jake said slowly stepping back.