Aragol parried a strike to his shoulder, swinging the blade wide and off to the side. The young woman's right arm now stretched to her left in an awkward position, opening her abdomen to him. Aragol took the opportunity given to him and in one fluid motion unsheathed his dagger from his right hip with his left hand and thrust it forward. Less than an inch before it touched skin the young woman chopped down at his arm with her sword, forcing Aragol to pull it back before she dismembered him. His sword was free, however, and he thrust it at the woman's neck. With amazing flexibility and speed, she bent her head back and the blade just brushed over a few small nearly invisible hairs. Aragol realized his left side was partially open and that her sword was free so he waited for her to take the bait, which she did, and pushed her sword down with his dagger when it came for him. He pulled back Dragon's End and twisted his wrist to the right, placing the sword horizontally, and swung it forward, intent on decapitating his enemy.

She leapt back with great speed and his blade his nothing but air. He brought it back to his side, eyeing her carefully.

"Who are you?" he asked her.

"What does it matter to you?" she asked, her shoulders rising up and down slightly more than before. He was tiring her.

"I wish to know what to mark on your grave," he replied with a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You've got to kill me first." She lunged, nearly flying into him, her glowing blade leading the way. Aragol sidestepped the stab, slashed at it with his sword, and hit air as she pulled back in time. Using the momentum of his falling blade he swung it wide in a horizontal arc. She was forced to step back lest he eviscerate her and she grit her teeth in frustration. Aragol stood in place, watching her, waiting for her to act. He could feel warmth and a strange tingle flowing into him from Dragon's End.

She came at him again with great speed and Aragol had just enough time to swing his body out of the way of her stabbing blade. He had raised his left arm as her blade thrust into the space beneath it and before she could pull back he slammed his arm into hers, pinning it against him. She tugged hard to free it and though she was incredibly strong for a slight woman he held her there. Aragol pulled Dragon's End back and aimed its point toward her abdomen, preparing for the killing blow. Seeing what he would do, she reached out with her free hand and gripped his right forearm, squeezing it tightly under an iron grip. Aragol tried to fight it and force his sword into her but she held strong. They looked at one another, copper eyes staring into grey ones. A gust of wind blew by, tossing his silver hair into his face and her blonde locks out behind her.

"So," she said with a raised eyebrow and a sneer, "we're in quite the predicament right now, aren't we?"

Aragol smirked back at her. "Not quite." He pulled his right arm back, the one she gripped, and pulled her into him, her chest pressed against his breastplate. She glanced up at him in shock, wondering what he was doing. He pulled back further and she kept gripping, not wanting to let go of his weapon hand, and she pressed up against him even more. She felt stabbing pains in her chest and heard ripping and tearing as he kept pulling her more against him. She winced from the agony she was feeling and before he had pulled his arm too far back for her to keep holding on she slammed a knee into his groin, hitting armour, and felt his other arm loosen ever so slightly. She pulled her weapon arm out of his grip as quickly as she could and leapt back several feet, out of harm's way. She eyed his breastplate and saw that around the edge of the hole in the middle of it were jagged pieces of armour poking out. She even saw some of her own blood dripping off of them. She looked down at her own chest and saw several holes through her shirt, red with blood. It wasn't a mortal wound by any means but it was painful and the sight of her own blood upset her.

She turned her pain into anger and charged again, her blade glowing brightly.

****

Boog's shirt didn't exist anymore. Small black pieces of it dotted the ground and flew off into the wind as he stood before his enemy. Some of his skin was singed and burned but he was very much still alive and ready to fight. His opponent was as of yet completely unharmed.

Boog had one last trick up his sleeve, figuratively speaking, and waited for the right time to use it. He fell to one knee, feigning weakness and exhaustion, and winced. He was indeed low on energy and breath and he hoped his feint worked.

The young man ignited one hand on fire and began to step forward proudly. "Told you that you couldn't beat me, Pops. You're too old, too slow, too weak and just too stupid to ever stand a chance against me. I'm going to enjoy burning you into a pile of ash and charred meat." When he was about ten feet away he outstretched his flaming hand. "You were kind of fun to beat around, I suppose." He then smiled and shot forth a large stream of fire directly at Boog. It engulfed the ground around him and created huge flames that rose up many feet into the air. When he finished the attack and the flames died away he waited for the crispy corpse to reveal itself.

Instead, Boog was still there, unhurt and smiling.

Before the young man could attack again Boog pounced on him. He pushed him to the ground, climbed atop of him, and began beating him, fist after fist striking to other man's face repeatedly. His brass knuckles cracked bone and knocked the young man's skull around like a punching bag. He paused after his eighth punch and waited. Had he killed him? A part of him worried that he had but another, larger part of him just didn't care. The young man's face budged, slightly, and Boog relaxed.

That was when the broken face of the young man screamed and Boog felt himself being launched off the ground and fly high into the air after the boy's body glowed white and exploded with tremendous force.

****

Aragol and the young woman were clashing weapons once more, equally matched, when the explosion send a shockwave directly at them. It sent the both of them flying off to the side and skidding along the ground for a hundred feet. Aragol recovered first and was on his feet and running toward the young woman, seizing his chance to finally kill her as she lay on the ground. She was up in an instant, however, and for a moment appeared to want to engage him again but then began backing away. Aragol hurried to reach her but just as he did she winked at him and shot up into the air and flew off toward the source of the explosion.

So she could fly, Aragol realized dismally. As he watched her fly away he noticed the swirling mass of shadow beasts above was begin to destabilize. They were fighting against the wind and beginning to win. He glanced to Graham and saw that he was on his knees and Celestia was holding his arms up for him. He would run out of energy soon. His team's time was almost up.

****

Karmen and Victoria stared at the black stem before them, neither of them knowing what to do with it.

"You're little Miss Know-it-all," Victoria said to Karmen, her arms over her chest, "what do we have to do here?"

Karmen frowned at her. "I'm thinking! This isn't exactly something I've done before."

"Well insulting me was something you've never done before we met and you've done a fine job of that."

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas!"

"That's because I don't have any, bitch!"

"Well then get some!"

"I would but I can't reach that far up your ass!"

"You know what, Victoria?"

"What?!"

"You can go f-"

The huge explosion cut her off and sent them both flying into the stem headfirst with great force. It stunned and dazed them but they didn't lose consciousness. When they recovered they glanced toward the battlefield and saw the man that wielded fire laying on his back, Casandra tending to Ivory, Elmar floating up into the air toward a falling Boog, Aragol looking up at the young swordswoman flying about high above, and up even higher the shadow creatures were threatening to break free from their prison of wind.

Karmen and Victoria looked at one another, the anger and hatred they had for one another abating somewhat.

"We need to act quickly," Karmen said. "Those shadow beasts are going to come out soon."

Victoria found herself agreeing with her. It didn't help the situation very much, however, for they were still out of ideas. The young Canadian looked up the entire height of the mushroom tree and up above at the white tendrils and gills. There had to be some way to get rid of the sickness of darkness. Light got rid of the dark, she thought, but the light given off from the auroras in the purple sky was as bright as the sun. There was plenty of light to be had. She felt the stem's black surface and scraped at it with her nails. Chunks of blackness fell off, as if it was some sort of bark. She scraped more and more and little shards of the black shell kept falling but very little of it. She punched it in hopes of cracking a larger piece off but only ended up hurting her hand. "Maybe if we take this bark off it'll fix it."

Karmen looked up the whole stem. "It's almost all the way to the top, Victoria. Even if we tried we'd never have time to get all of it off."

"Well it's something!"

Karmen looked at her but shook her head. "We don't have time... There has to be another way."

"There isn't!" Victoria screamed, stomping her foot on the ground. She was growing frustrated and tears were forming in her eyes. She had never felt as helpless and useless as she did now. "Why don't you transform into that huge bug again and scrape the bark off with your claws. That would be quicker!"

"It's too soon for that. I would kill myself if I tried."

"There is another way!" called a familiar voice.

The two girls gazed to the side to see Casandra, Ivory, and Elmar with Boog in his arms approaching quickly. Casandra moved to the stem and put a hand on its dark surface. She scraped at it with her nails for a few seconds before taking a step back and looking at Ivory. "I need you to get me under that shell. Can you do that?"

Ivory, healed and well, nodded. "You gave me my life back, Casandra. I'd do anything for you." She gripped her axe in both hands and slammed it against the black shell, splintering pieces of it off. She struck again and more pieces fell off. It would take several swings to break through but she did not give up.

Victoria eyed Elmar with a battered and bruised Boog in his arms and his staff hanging from a loop on his back. The large man seemed much too heavy for the much shorter one. "How are you doing that?" she asked him.

Elmar shrugged and offered her a small smile. "I just made his body lighter. He doesn't weigh much more than my staff right now."

Ivory finally broke through and revealed the soft white flesh of the actual stem beneath the thick shell of darkness. She stepped aside as Casandra put her hand on the white surface and closed her eyes. She focused and began reading the thoughts of the giant fungus, listening to what it had to say.

Behind the group, the swordswoman was helping the young man back to his feet. He was weak but was still able to ignite his hands. Aragol was rushing to them but he was all alone. There was a cry far away that made everyone, except Casandra, turn their heads. Celestia, still holding on to a nearly prone Graham, was pointing up at the sky. To everyone's horror the mass of beasts were swirling together, against the force of Graham's wind, nearly breaking through entirely. Even as they watched a select few of the beasts slipped free and dove toward Graham in an attempt to free the rest of their kind from their steadily weakening prison.

Ivory and Elmar exchanged glances. Without a word, Elmar placed Boog on the ground and took off running, heading for Graham while Ivory raced to aid Aragol. Victoria and Karmen watched them go for a few moments before turning their attention to Casandra.

"Hurry!" Victoria cried out impatiently. "Those beasts will be coming here any minute!"

Casandra replied calmly, "I almost have it. It's telling me what is hurting it. It's something inside. It feels sick from the inside. This black shell is like a rash and it's telling me that if it completely covers it that it'll eventually suffocate and die."

"We'll be dead before that happens," Victoria said as she glanced back to see Ivory and Aragol teaming up against the man and woman. Elmar had almost reached Graham but two of the shadow beasts were already swirling around him, reaching for him with their claws. "Hurry up, Casandra!!"

****

Celestia watched the two shadow beasts circle overhead, their black mouths agape and their claws reaching. Graham had one arm still up but his breathing was slow and his head hung heavily. The prison of wind was beginning to fail and more and more of the beasts were getting free. She held Graham in her arms and tried to comfort and encourage him but he was weakening by the minute and she knew eventually he'd lose consciousness from the strain of holding up the wind for so long. She wished she could help him some other way but she didn't know how to fight and didn't have anything to help keep his energy up.

One of the beasts dove and wrapped its clawed hands around Graham, biting down on his neck. Celestia struck it as hard as she could in the face and found that the smoke it appeared to be made of was mostly solid. It hissed at her and swiped a claw at her. She screamed and closed her eyes, lifting her arm to protect herself. She heard a loud screech and a thud and opened her eyes to see Elmar standing over her and Graham, his staff glowing in a white light. The shadow beast was nowhere to be seen. The second one dove at him but Elmar swung his staff and sliced it in half. It screeched and then dissipated into nothingness. Within moments two more had appeared and Elmar swung his staff at one, cutting it apart, and then stabbed it onto another. Every time his glowing staff touched one of the beasts they would vanish.

"Whatever you do, Celestia," Elmar said to her as he watched more shadow creatures fly toward him, "do not let Graham pass out. We need his vortex to stay up at all costs."

Celestia nodded though she had no idea how to do what was asked of her. She hugged Graham closer and talked into his ear. "Stay with me, Graham. Don't fall asleep. Stay with me. Keep that wind blowing for as long as you can. Just a little longer." She had no idea how long they had but she thought maybe offering him hope, even if it was false, might give him the strength he needed to keep fighting.

Elmar chopped apart two more shadow beasts and leapt aside as a third slashed for him with its long black claws. It fixed its red eyes on him and screeched, opening its mouth wide as if to devour him. He stabbed his staff between its eyes and watched as it broke apart and disappeared, like a puff of wind blowing out a candle.

He had no time to celebrate as more beasts kept coming, keeping him busy.

****

"We need to get inside the stem and pull out the disease," Casandra said, taking her hand off of the white flesh. "It's gathered in several places like a blood clot, strangling and killing the mushroom. If we get rid of those clots it should be able to heal itself rather quickly."

"Are you sure?" Karmen asked her. "That's what it told you?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you're just not going crazy?" Victoria asked her, her eyes wide with fear and panic. "How can a mushroom talk anyway? It has no mouth or brain!"

Casandra frowned. "I know what it said, Victoria. We need to get in there somehow or we fail everyone."

Victoria danced about in worry. She didn't know what to do and felt like such a burden. She wanted to help but hadn't the slightest clue how. She looked at Boog. "Maybe he can dig his way in. He's strong!"

Casandra was already on it. "That explosion knocked him out and he's injured from his battle with that young man. I'll heal him as best as I can but I used up most of my energy to keep Ivory from dying. She was in worse shape than he is."

"Just at least try!"

"I will, Victoria." Casandra got on her knees and placed her hands on Boog's chest. She closed her eyes and focused on gathering all the nurturing and healing energy she could find. There was little to be had in a place of such darkness and despair but she managed to gather small bits of it. She offered Boog as much restorative energy as she could give him before she felt her head begin to ache intensely. She wiped the blood that began to leak from her nose and stood up, albeit shakily. "I did all I could. It's up to him now to wake up in time to help us. I could really use something to eat though... So tired... "

Karmen fumbled about in one of her pockets and pulled out a piece of mushroom she had stored for later. She offered it to Casandra who thanked her and ate it gladly.

The wait was too much for Victoria.     "Like hell it's up to him!" she growled. She sat on top of Boog's large chest and smacked him across the face. "Get your ass up! We need you, Boog! We need you and your muscles and we need them now!" There was no reply or movement from him other than the slow rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. Victoria's face reddened and her frown deepened. She began slamming her fists on his chest and smacking his face and squeezing his nose and tugging his ears and digging her nails in his neck and then finally his eyes snapped open.

"OWWW!!!!" he cried as he sat up, Victoria tumbling off of him in a heap. "What in the goddamned hell was that for?!"

Casandra helped him up to his feet. "We need you to dig yourself inside the stem and pull out the clots within. If you can do that the mushroom will be cured and the darkness will fade and this anchor will be saved! You need to do it quickly, though!"

"Dig inside?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "With my hands?"

"There's no other way," Karmen said to him, her normally jaded face now full of worry and fear. "We're not strong enough to dig through. Even if we could we would take too long."

Boog nodded. "Don't worry, ladies. I'll get in there." He walked to the stem and to their surprise he didn't stop. He just kept walking and went right through the stem as if it wasn't there. They exchanged confused glances before he poked his head out and said, "I can transcend matter. It lets me go through just about anything. Can't do it too often, though, but this seems like a good time to use it." His head disappeared back into the stem and all the girls could do now was watch and wait.

Beyond, Ivory clashed with the man with fire hands and Aragol was in another pitched battle with the swordswoman. Ivory and the young man were both tired and weakened but held up strongly. His flames were weaker and hardly hurt Ivory but her swings were slower and had less energy in them, making them easier to avoid. Aragol and the young woman were fighting as if they had an unlimited supply of energy, their attacks as quick now as they had been at the start of the battle. The young woman, however, sported a few scratches and cuts while Aragol appeared completely unharmed. At the other end of the clearing, Elmar swung his glowing staff in earnest, keeping at bay the many shadow creatures attempting to kill the young man holding the rest of their kind imprisoned.

Suddenly, as the three women watched the battle, they heard a plop behind them. They turned around to see a black blob about the size of a large watermelon sitting on the ground, black goo oozing along its shiny surface and spreading along the cracked earth. Moments later, another blob landed nearby, similar in size. They looked up and after a minute saw a muscled arm stick out of the black stem, fifty feet up, with a black blob in its hand. The hand opened and the blob fell to the ground with another plop. Hope was beginning to rush through their bodies.

A cry rent the air behind them, shattering their rising hope and pushing it right back down. They didn't have to turn around to realize what had happened as they could hear the hundreds of shrieks and screams coming from high above.

Graham's prison had broken.

****

Aragol lunged and stabbed ahead, forcing her to back away. She rose up into the air, attempting to fly off again. He hurried to catch her before she did but she kept rising, smiling down at him with a grin of pride. He watched her and kept his sword ready. He couldn't hurt her but neither could she hurt him. When she dove for him, he would be waiting.

She called down to him, "I must admit, you fight well for a mortal. I almost thought you were about to-" She gasped and her eyes widened and her body trembled as something large hit her from behind. She reached behind her back with her free hand and pulled out the object that had hit her, wincing and groaning. Unable to hold it in she screamed in pain and began to descend, losing strength and energy. She dropped the object to the ground, which Aragol saw to be Ivory's axe, and fell lower and lower. He rushed to meet her when she'd touch down but a fireball streaked by his face. He skidded to a stop and glanced to the side to see the young man limping towards him, his hands on fire. He eyed the injured swordswoman, who had gathered enough energy and will to stop falling, and decided to put his attention on this newest foe. He saw Ivory off to the side, nearly dragging her weary body to where the swordswoman hung suspended in the air. He hoped she had a chance to throw her axe again, this time into the young woman's head.

"Burn alive, you grey-haired freak!" the young man shouted as he shot out two jets of flame from his hands.

Aragol remembered a certain event that had happened to him on his world when a spellcaster had shot a spell his way. He put his faith and trust into his sword and pointed it ahead, toward the approaching fire, closing his eyes. He soon heard the crackling of the flames and the rush of hot air blowing around him but felt no pain. He opened his eyes to see that Dragon's End had not failed him. The flames were absorbed into the blade and ran along its length for a few seconds before dissipating. The young man stared in shock and Aragol frowned at him.

"My hair is silver, you ignorant fool," he said before running toward him. The young man shot a fireball at him as he backed away, fear beginning to grip him in its icy embrace. Aragol stabbed the fireball with his sword and watched the flames disappear. A second fireball sped toward him, to similar effect. The young man panicked and ran away, unable to do anything against the silver-haired swordsman. He was weak and his limp slowed him down greatly, giving Aragol a great advantage. He felt Dragon's End vibrate with excitement as it anticipated the fresh kill and he thrust it ahead when he was in range but somehow missed. The young man was lifted into the air and soared away, the swordswoman carrying him by the arms and flying off into the distance, never looking back.

Aragol had no time to curse or feel any frustration as he then heard the army of shadow beasts cry out in delight as their prison of wind crumbled around them, allowing them freedom. He turned around to face them even though he knew he would not survive. Like a dark storm cloud they descended, hundreds upon hundreds of shadowy forms diving down from above, branching off into three separate directions, one to the stem, one to him and Ivory, and another to Graham, Celestia and Elmar.

He looked at Ivory, who was up on her feet, axe in hand, and met her gaze. They locked eyes for a moment and nodded. It had been a pleasure to fight alongside one another, they were saying without uttering a word. It would be a pleasure to die together.

****

Celestia hugged her body against Graham, tears pouring from her eyes, as Elmar fought off the beasts as best as he could. He was fighting admirably, not letting a single creature touch her or Graham yet he had suffered several cuts and bites himself. She knew he'd probably run out of energy soon but for the moment he would protect her and Graham.

She looked down at Graham and gasped when she saw him looking up at her. His eyes were weary but he offered her a weak smile nonetheless. She lowered herself to him and pressed her forehead against his, unable to stop a sob from coming out. She kept her eyes locked on his and never looked away. She wanted the last thing she saw to be him. She pursed her lips and wondered if she should do something else. Her mind was confused and in turmoil and she didn't know whether she should listen to it or her aching heart. Her eyes veered away from his for a brief moment, glancing at his lips, before locking in place again. She heard Elmar cry out in agony as he was struck repeatedly. The beasts were almost on top of them now. She barely knew Graham yet she somehow liked the idea of dying beside him. It comforted her. It gave her a small measure of peace. It somehow felt right.

Before she could do anything, Graham put a hand behind her head and pressed her lips against his.

****

Victoria, Casandra and Karmen felt their necks ache as they strained to see Boog's arm pop out once more, hundreds of feet up, nearly to the mushroom's gills. There were over two dozen black blobs on the ground yet the sickness remained. Casandra had no doubts about what the mushroom had told her but the other two young women felt differently. They said nothing but she could see the worry in their faces. They didn't think it was going to work. They could hear the beasts approaching and thought that their lives were over. In their mind, their journey and their task was a failure.

Casandra didn't let it get to her. She knew it would work. The man in black had brought her here because of her gifts. She had never doubted them before and she did not doubt them now. She would see her kids again. She knew it.

A dark and ominous shadow fell over the three women's heads as the beasts flew over them, diving down on them hungrily. Their mouths opened, revealing a void that went on forever, and their claws spread out, eager to grab them. Their red eyes flared, their prey in sight and their feast about to begin.

The three women grabbed each other's hands and closed their eyes, waiting for what was to come. There was no point in running away. There was nowhere to run to. Their time was up.

Amidst the screeching and the screaming of the beasts, amidst the thunderous pounding of their hearts, amidst the rush of voices and memories streaming through their minds, the women heard a plop.

And everything went quiet.