"Ashley, wake up! Please, you can't die on me now!" A sweet voice called through the darkness of Ashley's mind. Her eyes blinked open, seeing a girl with impossibly blue hair leaning over her. She was soaking wet, causing her hair to reach past her waist, and wore a baggy shirt tied around her midriff.

"What happened?" Ashley muttered as she rubbed her temples. Her head was aching, and there was soreness in her entire body. She was also soaked, water causing her clothing to cling tightly to her body. With the temperature as it was, she was absolutely freezing. With a little effort, she was able to sit up and look around.

"Well, it's a long story..." the girl began. Ashley was seated on some grass, a stone arch behind her reaching across a river to the opposite bank. Was she under the bridge right now? "You'd better take a look in the water, first,” the girl added cautiously with a forced smile.

Confused, Ashley stumbled to her feet and down to the nearby river. She leaned over the greenish water, not wanting to kneel down on the wet, sandy bank. The lighting was surprisingly good, and the water reflected her perfectly... at least, it should have. Staring up at her from the flowing water was a boy with bright red hair, wearing her school uniform. It wasn’t just the Snapdragon uniform, but her individual clothing, down to the red tie she chose to wear. "What the," she gasped, her voice unfamiliar. She reached a hand up to her face, watching as the image on the water copied her movements. Was this… her? Ashley turned back to the mysterious girl, realizing it must be Edwin.

"Hey, I haven't got a clue. I woke up and here we were." He shrugged, walking over to the riverbank. "Look on the bright side, we're not dead," he laughed, patting Ashley on the back.

"Maybe we are..." Ashley muttered. She looked at her hands, unsure if they were even her hands. After falling off the bridge, she was magically unharmed, but in a body that wasn’t her own. Nothing felt real. Was she dreaming? Was she in the hospital somewhere? Was this a coma?

"Don't fret, you're still alive.” an unfamiliar voice with a Spanish accent spoke up from the right of the two kids, interrupting Ashley’s panic. Standing to the side was what appeared to be a fennec fox, wearing a tiny suit vest. "Lovely to meet you, Soul Warriors!" It smiled, scampering up Edwin to rest on his shoulder.

"It talked, didn't it." Edwin looked to Ashley for reassurance.

"I sure did. And I've got a lot of talking to do. My name is Mateo, and you could say I'm the guardian of this city. Twelve hours ago a strange presence broke through my protective barrier, rendering my abilities useless. I have been desperately searching for you Soul Warriors; the only humans gifted enough to aid me in times of need."

"What? What the hell is a Soul Warrior?" Ashley asked.

"The Soul Warriors are powerful warriors who defend this land in times of need. You were chosen because you are a reincarnated fire spirit my dear, while your friend here was once a water spirit."

"That doesn't explain my cleavage." Edwin grumbled.

"It's all a part of the power. Now, I better give you these." With a pop, two key chains appeared before Ashley and Edwin. Each was embellished with tassels and a single jewel, one ruby and one sapphire. "Now, tell the Soul Armor to activate."

Mateo jumped down from Edwin’s shoulder, giving the pair an expectant look.

Ashley grabbed one keychain out of the air, running her fingers through its red tassels. "What is that even going to do?" she asked.

“It will change you into your battle forms, of course!” Mateo laughed off the question, as if Ashley somehow should have known the answer beforehand.

“Did you say battle?!” Edwin must have misheard the fox.

“There’s a foreign presence wandering the town! You have to defeat it!” Mateo was shocked by the children’s ignorance.

“What if we don’t want to fight it?” Edwin asked.

"Then you'll die, of course. Choice is yours." Mateo laughed off his question, but the pair remained uncomfortable with the animal’s sudden proposition. Ashley looked at her options: she was somehow alive, stuck in the wrong body, and was asked to fight by a talking fox. But what was she supposed to do otherwise? Wander home sopping wet only for no one to recognize her? That was, if she even had a family in this dream world. There was nothing to do but follow this creature’s instructions. She made eye contact with Edwin, and the determined look on his face showed he had come to the same conclusion.

"Soul Armor, Activate!" The key chains grew into a long staffs, embellished with glowing quartz crystals at the top, from which a blinding light poured forth. Their clothing swirled into light, one piece solidifying into shirts for the pair. Ashley’s top was a dark scarlet with cherry trim, short sleeves puffing out from balls of light. A swirl of sparkles condensed to a small jewel on the top button of her collar. Edwin’s navy top had sky blue trim and detached short sleeves, light gently lapping around his arms. With a loud pop, more light became a pair of loose shorts for Ashley and a skirt for Edwin, colors matching their tops.

The light continued its dance, wrapping around Ashley’s waist and forming a red sash. Her wrists were wrapped in light, becoming thick cherry red bangles. Scarlet boots grew up to her knees, ending in the same cherry red trim. Similarly, Edwin’s wrists were covered with sky blue bracelets, adorned with spikes pointing back up his arm. Edwin’s navy boots were much longer, stopping an inch and a half from the end of his skirt.

Opening her eyes, Ashley's hair spiked up with a wash of light. "A scalding pain from beneath the earth! Ruby Fire!" she declared, not fully comprehending what she was saying or why. With the light fading away, the staff in her hand began to reform, becoming a flaming sword.

Meanwhile, Edwin opened his eyes as his long hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. "The jewel that shines with the ocean's beauty! Sapphire Sea!" he announced, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. His staff broke in half, forming two silver revolvers.

"Better get a move on," Mateo chuckled. "The enemy's right behind you." A loud rumbling emanated from the river behind them, and the pair jolted back to reality. Turning around, they were unsettled to see a giant squid-snail hybrid emerge from the water. Measuring at least ten feet tall, water cascaded down the creature’s body, sending droplets flying at Ashley and Edwin. A snail shell opened to reveal a plethora of tentacles, and two large eyes peered at them from either side of the shell.

"Wait a minute, I have no idea how to use this!" Ashley shouted, desperately trying not to injure herself with the sword. She already had a bad experience with fire a short time earlier.

"I've never even seen a gun before!" Edwin pleaded.

But Mateo had already disappeared, leaving the new Soul Warriors without guidance. The pair looked at each other in shock as the monster moved closer. It lashed out one of its large tentacles, and Ashley was thrown against the foundation of the bridge, unable to dodge in time. The pain was intense, and it felt as though all of her ribs had splintered into fragments. Why do I keep getting slammed into this bridge today? The beast recoiled it tentacle, preparing for another strike.

"No you don't, asshole!" Edwin yelled, firing at the monster. Bursts of water struck its side, startling it. Edwin ran over to Ashley and helped her to her feet. "You're going to be okay, all right? Just trust me." Wincing, Ashley made it to her feet, surprised by how quickly she was recovering. As she steadied herself, Edwin ran back to the monster, leading it away from where Ashley stood. Ashley tightened her grip, and raised her sword. I have to do something to stop this thing, before Edwin gets hurt. But the weapon proved too heavy, and her arms buckled under the weight. Stumbling, she watched as an arc of flame leaped off and hit the monster.

It let out an ungodly screech, turning to see its attacker. "The fire's working!" Edwin shouted, firing more rapidly. "Hit it again!"

"That was an accident!" Ashley yelled back. “I don’t even know what I did!”

"Chuck the sword at it!"

"What?"

"Just chuck the sword at it! It's a big target, you can't miss it!" Edwin shrugged. “It’s not like we have anything better to try.”

“If you want me to throw a weapon clearly meant to be held, then that’s what you’ll get,” Ashley grumbled to herself. Just don’t blame me when it doesn’t work. Edwin led the monster closer to Ashley. She raised the sword and threw it right at the monster's shell, thinking back to a field trip in elementary school where they learned to throw spears. A path of fire shot through the air and firmly lodged itself in the dirt… two feet in front of the monster.

"I missed?!" Ashley shouted, kicking the ground in anger. “What the fuck?!” As her foot hit the dirt, a crack formed in the ground around the sword, moving towards the monster and circling it. Flames erupted from the fissure, and the beast screamed as it burned. Inflating like a balloon, it’s face and cries became more distorted until the monster burst into a puff of smoke.

Edwin ran to Ashley’s side, suddenly hugging her. His unexpected weight caused her to stumble backwards, and the pair fell to the ground. “You did it!” Edwin cheered.

“You did the most work. If you hadn’t led that thing away while I was down, I’d be dead right now.” Ashley said.

"That was... fast," Mateo announced, spooking the pair with his sudden appearance. "Truly unconventional, but all in all a good effort. I had high hopes for you two, and it seems you're living up to them. Now, you two deserve a good rest. Tell your armor to deactivate." In a flash of light the pair returned to their normal clothing, and their weapons turned back into key chains, landing in their hands.

"Can we go home now?" Edwin complained.

"Of course! Just remember to keep those key chains on you at all times. Danger could appear at any time, you know!" Mateo winked.

“What do you mean ‘any time’? There’s more of this?” Ashley said in disbelief.

“Another presence could break the barrier, and I’ll need your help to defeat it.” Mateo answered as if it was obvious.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got homework to do." Edwin started to walk up to the bridge, only to be cut off by Ashley.

"But, Mr. Fox," she paused to clear her throat. "I'M STILL MALE!"