It was nearing nightfall when they first set foot near the muddy banks of the mountain stream. The forest wasn't very far away, half a days walk at most. Yet, traveling with animals who weren't extremely fast did slow them down. A mouse was fast in its own right, but it could only keep up that pace for so long. Cats were just downright sluggish and dogs could go fast when excited. Unfortunately, Angel learned that the hard way. She groaned for what seemed like the millionth time. She could have made it there and back by now but the others(except Stephanie) refused to ride on her unless it was an absolute emergency.

"Hey, don't you guys wonder if our parallel selves have found the wizard with the help out that deer like us?" Twinkle said. The other shook their heads and Twinkle harrumphed. It had been pretty tense since they set foot on the river bank because there was the same odd feeling from the hole. Jessica and Stephanie both shuddered. Something was wrong, but they couldn't place a claw on what.

"Guys, I think we'd better stop here." Jessica said, glancing up at the moon. They chose a suitable tree and curled up under it. It was peaceful. It would have been even more peaceful if the strange feeling would go away. The four fell asleep to the sound of owls hooting and the mountain stream trickling in a slow, repeated way.

"Hey? HEY!"someone prodded the original Stephanie awake. She looked around while groaning. Angel and Twinkle were hidden by the shadows as they slept. Good. Nobody would notice them. Jessica she could see but barely. You would have spotted Jessica if you were really looking for her, other wise, she was just as hidden as the other two. Stephanie had golden fur which made her stand out too much.

"Hello! Listen to me girl!" she turned to face the voice and she was mildly surprised when she saw another dog. Her auburn eyes scanned him suspiciously. He had a short tail, perky ears and biscuit-coloured fur. His eyes were ocean-blue.

"Yes?" Stephanie said as she stifled a yawn "May I help you?"

"Yes in fact. You may. I'm looking for a mouse, a cat,a dog and a dragon have you?" the weird dog said.

Stephanie was scared now, but she managed to keep a brave facade.

"Depends, who's asking?" Stephanie questioned the strange dog.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you my real name, but my code name is Sardog and these are my friends, Hocat, Sevilan and Mangry." 'Sardog' said. Stephanie gasped as a male mouse,cat and dragon made their way out of the bushes.

The dragon was named Sevilan apparently. Or that was his code name. He was blue and red with vicious blue eyes. Hocat was a black cat with empty green eyes. It looked like he had no heart. The snow-white mouse looked like he was constantly angry and his red eyes showed of his short fuse very well. At that moment the other three woke up and screamed.

"Stephanie! Get back! Angel and I know these legends! These people are called the 'Corrupters'. They open portals into other dimensions, kill the people that wander through and steal their souls!" Twinkle shrieked.

"My, my, my. A dragon, a dog, a cat and a mouse. I thought you'd figure out that you'd heard of the portal somewhere, little mouse. Everyone's heard of that 'legend'. Too bad it won't help you now." Sevilan said in a cold and unloving voice. There wasn't the slightest bit of warmth in his voice.

The Original Four were truly terrified. That's when a plume of searing heat came out of his mouth. They were under attack.