**For some reason this chapter sometimes only shows the sneak peek version on the mobile app. The full chapter IS published so if you can't read the full version on the app I suggest trying from your phone/tablet's browser. Sorry for any inconvenience or hassle. I tried republishing it many times but to me it still shows just the sneak peek version. Again... Sorry about this... **

Karmen had deposited her clothes behind one of the mushroom trees before she had transformed and was now putting them on as the others prepared to leave. Some were getting thirsty and hungry yet there was nothing edible to find.

Karmen saved them once more, coming out of her cover with a chunk of white in her hand. She finished chewing what was in her mouth and swallowed. She waited a moment, shrugged, and offered the white chunk to Boog, who was nearest to her. "The mushroom tree stems don't taste too horrible and don't feel poisonous. They are also quite juicy and filling."

Everyone tried a piece and discovered that she was right. Even Celestia and Aragol, who worried the mushrooms may affect their minds found no ill effects. Grabbing chunks from nearby mushroom stems, the group set off toward the anchor, munching away, glad that there was something to satiate their hunger, even if it was rather bland in taste.

During their walk Aragol led the way with his cape now reattached to his breastplate. He was followed in order by Celestia, Boog, Victoria, Ivory, Casandra, Karmen, Graham and Elmar once again bringing up the rear. There was little talk, which bored Celestia and Victoria immensely, but it was better than having more giant insects ambushing them.

After several long minutes, perhaps hours, the mushrooms, normally with a white stem and a faded red cap became gradually darker. Their stems were now grey and their caps were wrinkled and turning black. Their scent also changed into a pungent, foul smell of greater bitterness than before. The mushroom trees were spread further apart the more they walked and after a time they could peer through the forest for hundreds of yards all around. The game trail they had been following the whole time had branched off at a few places but Aragol thought of the mission and received visions of their destination, assuring everyone they were still travelling in the right direction.

At one point a massive insect crossed their path, but it was not the spiky kind with the pincers. It stood several feet above their heads but was very long and covered in thousands of thick hairs, resembling a gigantic caterpillar. It was coloured a bright yellow with black bands around its body. It crossed the trail in an undulating fashion and paid them no heed at all. Even after it was long gone it took a few minutes before everyone felt it was safe to move on.

An hour later, the forest opened up to a massive clearing a mile wide. No mushrooms grew there, all save one.

The group stopped walking and eyed the massive black mushroom stretching hundreds of feet into the air with a mix of awe, fear, and duty. Its long white tendrils stretched over the whole clearing and they could all clearly see the black shapes swirling around their lengths. The shapes had two red eyes and what appeared like long arms ending in clawed hands. They looked to be made of smoke and moved with a will of their own, though they never strayed far from the tendrils or the mushroom itself.

At the base of the mushroom were too young humans, a man and a woman. The man's hands were enflamed and the woman held a wicked-looking short sword with dark energy emanating from its blade. They were staring at the group with dark eyes and sinister intent.

The young woman pointed her sword at the group and, all at once, every shadowy shape, all the hundreds of them, screeched simultaneously and flew away from the mushroom and right towards the group of nine. As the group's collective eyes were on the approaching army of shadow creatures, the young man and woman charged.

Aragol fell into his role as High General and began talking quickly, "If we want a chance of surviving this I need you all to listen to me. We need a plan of action and—"

"Action, got it!" Boog said as he burst into a run toward the approaching humans.

"Boog, no!" Aragol called after him. It was too late. Ivory was now charging ahead and Celestia, Karmen, Victoria, and Casandra were retreating into the cover of the sparse mushroom trees. Aragol glanced at Elmar and Graham, the only ones who stayed behind.

"What's the plan, general?" Elmar asked him, his face stern and fearless.

Aragol nodded, grateful to have him by his side. "We need a way to stop or slow down those shadow creatures. They'll be upon us in moments but we need to deal with the threat on the ground first."

Graham gulped deeply and stepped forward shyly. "I...I can try."

Aragol eyed the young man. "Are you certain?"

Graham gasped in surprise when someone stepped up beside him. It was Celestia and she grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed it. "He is," she answered for him, offering him a gentle smile. He looked at her, his face already beginning to redden, and smiled back.

"I'll take care of the beasts," he said more determinedly, stepping forward some more and stretching his arms up into the air. Celestia stood at his side, offering him support.

Aragol turned to Elmar. "Find Victoria, Karmen, and Casandra. Take them to the black mushroom and find a way to end the corruption." He looked ahead just as Boog and Ivory began engaging the swordswoman and the fire master in the distance. "I'll go help those two."

Elmar watched Aragol leave and ran into the mushroom forest in search of the three young women.

Graham saw the both of them leave but didn't think about them. His focus was on the approaching mass of shadow creatures. There were hundreds upon hundreds of them dropping down from the tendrils of the black mushroom. Some were headed toward Boog, Ivory and Aragol but most were headed his way. His spine was colder than ice and sweat beaded all over his body. He could feel his heart pounding against his ribs with so much force he thought they would break. His arms grew heavy and doubt plagued his mind. He couldn't do this. There were too many of them. He'd fail. It was pointless to try. He thought of turning around and running as far away as possible as quickly as possible. The more he thought of it the more tempting it became.

"Graham," a sweet voice said from to his left. He gazed in that direction to set his eyes on Celestia's pretty face. She was staring back at him with hope and confidence in her sparkling eyes. He thought he saw something else in them as well but wasn't sure.

"You can do this," she said to him. "I know you can."

He remembered what Karmen had told him before she had left the ridge to transform into the massive insect so she could defend Boog, Ivory and Aragol. He remembered her words and it gave him strength. He had promised himself then that he would let no harm come to his teammates who he was beginning to consider as friends. He would show them what he could do. He would show them why the man in black had chosen him.

He would show the shadow creatures that he was a force to be reckoned with.

The stone on his necklace began to glow brightly and Graham frowned in concentration as he straightened his arms toward the descending army of beasts of shadow. They were nearly to the ground now, only a few dozen feet away. He could see the thousands of red eyes staring at him. He could see the sharp black claws reaching for him. He could see their mouths opening wide, revealing a blackness so deep it seemed to pull him into it.

"GO BACK!" he shouted at them, his necklace glowing brightly and humming with power. He felt currents of air swirl around his arms and the mushroom trees nearby swayed and rocked as a force of wind picked up. It funneled around Graham, around his body, down his arms, and gathered at his open palms. A black claw descended upon him, aimed for his forehead. Graham cried out once more, louder than before, and the wind he had gathered spread out of his hands and blew outward. The massive gust pushed so powerfully that the mass of shadow beasts went with it, flying back up toward the tendrils and highest reaches of the black mushrooms, their cries going along with them. Graham directed his wind straight ahead of him and it pushed those beasts going for Boog, Aragol and Ivory far back toward the huge black stem. He raised one hand up higher and those creatures were shot up toward the others. Once they reached the others, swirling around just below the mushroom tree's gills, he held them there. Gathering more wind to him he directed it toward the swirling mass of shadow and kept the creatures locked in the vortex, unable to fly out, utterly trapped.

Celestia watched in wonder, her eyes wide with awe.

****

As Graham had been preparing his attack, Boog swung a fist at the young man with fiery hands and growled when he leaned back and avoided it. He stepped forward and tried again but the young man was quick and agile. He could see a cocky smile appear on the boy's face and it angered him. No kid was going to play around with the mighty Boog. Not today, not ever.

The young man eventually stopped dodging and avoiding and went on the attack. He shot a hand forward and released a fireball. It struck Boog in the chest and he stumbled back, grunting in pain. He patted away the smoke gathering on his shirt and looked down at his chest. Much like Aragol there was now a hole revealing his skin. That shirt had been one of his favorites...

The young man laughed. "You may look all tough, Pops, but you ain't got nothin' on me." He enlarged the flames around his hands. "There's plenty more where that came from."

Boog, instead of feeling intimidated, smiled. "I'm no father of yours, kid. If I was, I'd need to teach you a healthy dose of respect."

"Why would I respect a phoney like you? You're nothing special."

It was Boog's turn to laugh. "Keep your eye on the ball, kid."

"What?"

Boog disappeared, going invisible, and immediately charged the young man, hoping to catch him unawares. To his surprise, he found him smiling and watching him approach as if he was still visible. Hoping it was a bluff, Boog kept moving.

The young man shot forth both hands and twin jets of fire burst out, striking Boog squarely, turning him visible and sending him flying back dozens of feet away. He recovered quickly and beat down the flames sticking to his body but his pride was severely hurt and he had a newfound respect for this worthy adversary. Boog discovered that his words weren't as cocky as he'd thought. He could actually back them up.

"I control all things related with fire," the young man described smugly. "That means heat vision too. Your invisibility won't work on me, Pops." He ignited his hands again. "Let's try again."

****

Ivory had fought countless soldiers in her short life. She had slain footmen, spearmen, axemen, knights with maces, peasants with pitchforks, captains with magnificent blades, and everything else in between. She had fought them and had won every battle.

She had never fought someone as skilled as this young woman, however. She moved with grace, with precision, with incredibly accuracy, with purpose and with ferocity. Ivory was hard-pressed to manage any offensive move and was constantly forced on the defensive. She remained uninjured but the young woman fought with a boundless supply of energy. She wore no armour and Ivory took it as great personal insult that she couldn't have at least scratched her at least once yet. She should be doing better. She should be beating this girl with ease. She should have won already.

But she was not.

Finally, it appeared that the girl's energy had run out and with one final clash of sword and axe she hopped back. Her breathing was steady, however, and she smiled when she noticed that Ivory's was not. "Need a break, goldilocks?" she asked with a sneer. "Maybe some porridge?"

"What are you talking about?" Ivory growled, trying not to reveal how breathless she really was. "I'm just getting started."

"Good," the girl replied. "Otherwise I'd have been disappointed if that had been your best."

Ivory took a deep breath, recovering as much energy and strength as she could, and threw her axe as quickly as she could manage. It spun end over end and cleared the distance in less than a second.

But it missed.

The girl laughed. "Well that was dumb. Now you have no weapon. Are you really going to fight me with your fists?"

Ivory answered by charging at her, pulling back a fist for a mighty swing. The girl bent her knees and leapt right at her. She tackled into her armour and with strength far surpassing what Ivory thought she was capable of, sent her straight to the ground. The girl stood up, raised her blade with the end down, and plunged it deep into Ivory's gut. The blade glowed a bright purple and the black tendrils of darkness that crawled all over it stretched and trembled with delight.

"You're pitiful," she said to the dying Ivory as she stood up, pulled her blade out, and turned toward the battle between her fiery comrade and Boog.

Ivory had just enough time to see Aragol appear on the scene before she closed her eyes, her body beginning to feel terribly cold.

****

Elmar found the three women huddling behind a large, fallen mushroom tree. He had felt the wind pick up and suddenly die away within a few seconds time. Only when he looked back to see the mass of shadow beasts being blown up to the highest reaches of the black mushroom did he realize it had been Graham's doing.

"You have to come with me," he said to the three. "We need to secure this anchor before Graham runs out of energy and those beasts return."

"We don't even know what to do!" Victoria snapped back. "This was a mistake from the start. There's no way we could ever accomplish anything that man in black was saying..."

Elmar grew angry when he saw both Karmen and Casandra nod in agreement to what Victoria had said. He stomped his staff on the ground and pointed a finger at all three of them. "Now you all listen to me! Aragol, Boog, Ivory, Graham and even Celestia are out there risking their very lives and buying you time to get this done and you're going to thank them by sitting here and moping about it? What will you do once they die? Even if they succeed in killing those two humans there's still the hundreds of shadow beasts to deal with. Graham won't be able to hold them off forever. What will you do then? Don't think for a second that they won't find you. Even if by some miracle they don't how long will you last against those giant insects? Karmen can't save you every time! We are a team! We need to work together! Now get off your asses and get to that anchor!"

The three young women gazed at Elmar with wide eyes. They had never seen him so angry before. His face was red and his body was trembling. Exchanging glances, they stood up and were quick to follow him when he led the way. No one said a word.

They were soon in the clearing where off to their right, a hundred yards away, they saw Boog and Ivory fighting with the swordswoman and the man with fiery hands. Aragol was rapidly approaching them but would not reach them for a few moments yet. Graham in the distance had his arms outstretched and keeping the army of shadow beasts at bay with Celestia at his side, her hair and dress flapping in the wind.

The way to the black mushroom's stem was clear and Elmar guided them there, staff in hand. When they reached it they glanced back, seeing Boog still in intense combat with the younger man, his shirt now full of charred holes and his skin below blackened. The swordswoman was standing up as Ivory lay on her back, very still. Aragol was just arriving, taking the young woman's attention off of Boog.

Casandra gasped when she spotted Ivory. "I need to get to her, Elmar. I can heal her!"

Elmar glanced from the mushroom tree to Ivory and back to the tree. The tree would remain but Ivory would not. The decision was clear. "Go," he said to her. "I'll protect you." Casandra took off running. Elmar turned to Karmen and Victoria. "You two need to work together to find a way to cleanse this anchor of the corruption that has fallen over it. Casandra and I will be back when we can but time is running out. You must hurry." He then turned around and caught up Casandra as she was reaching Ivory.

Karmen and Victoria looked at one another, their eyes wide and their mouths agape.

I have to work with her? they both thought simultaneously.

As if their task wasn't impossible enough already.