With a wave of her grey hand a portal appeared over the dark marble floor. Out of it two figures emerged, one of them flying through the air and carrying the other by the arms. Once through the portal the airborne figure let go of her cargo and landed, breathing heavily. She looked up at the portal creator with a frown.

"Don't you start with us!" she growled with a pointed finger. "We were outnumbered!"

The grey woman walked up to the tired younger woman and looked down at her, tendrils of shadow caressing her bare skin like a lover. "You failed me. Not all of them can fight and yet you still failed me. Did I not give you a weapon?"

"Load of good it did," the younger woman snapped. "I managed to kill one of them but somehow she was healed."

The grey woman narrowed her eyes. "Healed? I did not think she was skilled enough to do that."

"Who?"

"The mother."

"What?"

"Please be quiet." The grey woman glanced briefly at the other figure, the young man, and when noticing that he was breathing and still alive she moved to a dark corner of the marble floor. All around her and the huge rock they were on asteroids flew past, some of them colliding together violently. She eyed the dark corner and smiled. "The next time you meet them you will have aid. I expect better results."

The young woman stood straight and eyed the dark corner. "What is this aid you're talking about? I don't see anything."

The grey woman beckoned the dark corner to come forth. It did, stepping forward into rays of light from a nearby star that pierced through the crags and spires of the huge asteroid they stood on. It was a man of average height covered in black rags with chainmail beneath. Grey hair covered his head and draped over his shoulders. He appeared to be in fit shape but stood stiffly and hardly moved, as if he wasn't breathing. Covering his face entirely was a white and featureless porcelain mask. In one grey hand he bore a large battle axe as black as his rags.

"His name is Durn," the grey woman said with admiration. She grabbed Durn's free hand and placed it in hers, approving of the similar skin colour. "He was the uncle of a king once but beings called The Headsmen slew him. As you can see he is not quite dead and declares himself a king by all rights. He will lead you and you will heed his orders."

"I'm not taking any orders from a zombie," Athena said defiantly, arms crossed over her chest.

"I am no zombie, girl," the porcelain mask said in a hollow and rough voice. "I command the entirety of The Headsman and all their claims. You will obey me, peasant, or I will claim you as my own and rid you of all that makes you who you are."

Athena unsheathed her blade and stood her ground. "You won't ever claim me, monster."

The white mask turned to face the young woman and the dark man's shoulders began to bounce as he let out a great laugh full of cold air and lethal promise. It chilled Athena to the bone and she found herself unwillingly taking a step back. She watched him point his huge axe at her and she gripped her sword tighter.

"I will claim all that I wish, child. Fight me if you desire but know that it would not bode well for you."

"No one is going to fight anyone," the grey woman said, putting a hand on Durn's shoulder. "You three must work together to dispose of those that have managed to cleanse one of those forsaken anchors. Once that is over you may fight yourselves all you wish. Until then, you do as I command." She walked to Seth, who was struggling to sit up through all the pain he felt, and touched him with one finger. A tendril of shadow slithered from her finger and crawled around Seth's body, rebuilding bone, reattaching flesh, and healing all other wounds on its way. When its work was done it disappeared and Seth stood up, looking ready to fight again. He thanked the grey woman and she chuckled. "Do not be cute with me, Seth. I had considered at great length to let you die so do not take this second chance lightly. You will not get a third."

Seth only nodded, saying nothing. He glanced at Durn for a moment and felt his skin crawl as the mask turned slightly in his direction.

"Be off," the woman said, waving her arm at them. "I have no time for pointless chatter with the likes of you all."

"Such is no way to speak to a king, woman," Durn growled.

The woman sighed in annoyance and walked up to Durn. She stabbed a finger into his chest, through his chainmail and into his skin, and the man's knees vibrated and buckled but he did not kneel. She smiled as he refused to surrender. "You are powerful, Durn, but know that if I truly wished it I could end you with a thought."

"You cannot kill me, wench. I've already died."

It was her turn to laugh this time. It wasn't nearly as terrifying as Durn's but it still made Seth and Athena uncomfortable. When she was done she grabbed Durn's face in her hand, eyeing her reflection on the smooth porcelain mask. "I like you, Durn, I really do. I may make an exception with you when it comes to me ridding this universe of all life." She clenched the face beneath the mask tightly, digging her claw-like nails into the man's grey skin. "Fail me and you will realize that even the undead can be killed." She let him go and waved her hand toward the middle of the marble floor. A portal appeared and Athena and Seth, who stood nearest, waited for Durn to move first. He ignored them completely and stepped through the portal, his hand gripping his axe tightly and his steps heavy. Athena and Seth exchanged glances and followed behind him. After they were through, the portal shrunk into nonexistence.

The white-haired woman resumed her work, her focus on a certain spiral galaxy with an odd diary-related name she couldn't fully remember. There were solar systems on this galaxy that housed dangerous beings of amazing power. She expanded her mind and focused on all dimensions this galaxy was connected to, ensuring that when she devoured all life on it she devoured it in its entirety, destroying the lifeforms on all versions of it.

She salivated at the thought.

****

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

Boog's cry woke everyone up and had them rushing toward him. He was standing before Graham and Celestia's shelter and holding the young man by the front of his shirt collar, his face an inch from his, contorted in an expression of pure anger.

"What did you do to her, you bastard?" he shouted in his face.

Graham's face, normally red in such a moment, was as white as freshly fallen snow. He stuttered and tripped over his words as he tried to explain through the intense grip of terror that clasped him.

Boog clenched his teeth and pulled a fist back, ready to knock some sense into the young man. "You need to learn to keep your hands and other body parts off of Celestia! I swear if I find out something happened between the two of you I'll kill you myself, Graham!"

"Nothing happened!" Celestia screamed at him, her tiny fists pummeling into Boog's tough side uselessly. "Let him go! All he did was sleep with me!"

"WHAT?!" Boog's eyes looked as if they would pop out of their sockets. "HE DID WHAT?!" Aragol and Elmar moved in, ready to act if he tried anything.

"SLEEP!" Celestia's sweet voice cried out loudly. "He was asleep already when I crawled in behind him! Nothing else happened! Stop this already, Boog! You're not my father so stop acting like you are! I can take care of myself!"

Boog stared daggers into Graham for a few moments before dropping him and turning around. He paced the ground and placed his hands over his head in an attempt to calm himself.

Graham sat where he landed, eyeing Boog with complete fear. Celestia knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't notice her, his eyes on the large irate man a few feet away. He had been having a most wonderful dream when he had been ripped out of his shelter and raised into the air for no reason in particular. He hadn't even known Celestia had been sleeping beside him yet Boog was ready to kill him for it.

"Don't be afraid of him," Celestia was calmly telling him. "He won't do anything."

"Celestia," Graham said, finally tearing his eyes off Boog to settle them on her, "he tried to kill me. He was about to kill me!"

"He wasn't," Casandra said, approaching the two. "He might have punched you but he would have never killed you, Graham."

"How do you know that?" he asked her, not believing her for a second.

"I can read emotions quite well, Graham. He was angry because he feels protective over Celestia and didn't want anything to happen to her. You have to remember that when he was transported here all he saw was a childish Celestia and he instinctively chose to protect her from all harm. He saw the two of you sleeping together and he worried you'd hurt Celestia. She is just a child in his mind, even though we know you aren't Celestia, and his protective instincts rolled in."

"He doesn't need to feel that way about me," Celestia said with a frown.

"And I'd never hurt Celestia," Graham said. "I'd rather hurt myself than do that."

"We all know that, Graham," Casandra replied with a nod. "I must also tell you that Boog woke up this morning probably hoping that everything this is and all that happened was a dream and that he'd be back home. I know he wasn't the only one who wished for that to happen. He is angry and though he would never admit he is afraid as well. What he did was wrong but he is accustomed to holding his emotions inside and retaining a tough outer shell. Waking up to this place was too much for him and he snapped. Seeing you together was what threw him over the edge."

Boog stepped forward, his eyes on Graham, though his face was much calmer and devoid of anger. He almost looked sad. "I was in the wrong, Graham. I...I did not mean to do that..." He left then, as quickly as he had come.

"I think that's as close to an apology that you're going to get from him," Casandra said with a small smile as she watched Boog walk off.

Victoria and Aragol had ventured off toward a new addition to the grassy field. All the flowers in the clearing had grown to gargantuan sizes, rising up many feet higher than the humans were, but not far from the stem of the huge mushroom was a plant that was different than the others. It resembled a red pitcher plant but the top of the plant lay flat on the ground and there was only darkness at the end of the tube-like flower. The entrance into the flower tunnel was wide enough for everyone to walk through and even though the two of them stood not a foot in front of it they could not see the end. It appeared to go on into infinity.

"I almost feel like walking in it," Victoria said with an expression of bewilderment. "Isn't that weird?"

"Not entirely," Aragol replied, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I'm experiencing the same strange urge..."

Karmen and Ivory appeared and eyed the dark tunnel oddly as well.

"Do any of you feel like they suddenly want to walk into it?" Aragol asked them. "It feels as if I'm hungry and staring at a table full of food. It looks rather inviting."

"I feel it," Karmen said, her eyes studying the flower and the tunnel.

Ivory nodded, her armoured arms crossed over her breastplate. "I do too."

The others gathered, even Boog, and all acknowledged the urge to walk into the large flower. It pulled them with greater strength the longer they stood before it. No one moved, however. They had all experienced danger and none were keen to experience it again so soon.

"Screw it," Victoria said, taking a step toward it. "I'm going to see what this is all about."

Aragol grabbed her shoulder. "Not alone, you won't."

Together, the two walked into the flower, Aragol gripping Dragon's End in his right hand. They walked into the darkness and it was not long before it swallowed them completely. The others waited and watched.

"That was a stupid idea," Boog grumbled. "We just lost two of our members now..."

Karmen was standing at the back of the flower, where it connected to the stem. She kicked it and her foot bounced against the tough petal. She had watched Aragol and Victoria walk into the flower and had waited for them to reach its end but she had never heard them approach or seen any sign of them touching the back of the flower. She pressed her ear against it and listened intently, hoping to hear voices or the sound of footsteps. She heard nothing.

"They aren't in the flower," she said when she returned to the others. "They walked in but they aren't there any longer."

"That makes no sense," Boog said as he stepped closer to the flower and looked inside, trying to peer through the darkness. "Aragol! Victoria! You in there? Can you tell us how it's like? Hello?"

There was no reply.

"What if the flower ate them?" Celestia asked worriedly. "What if that's why we don't hear them anymore?"

"No flower is making a meal out of me!" Boog growled. He fit his brass knuckles to his hands and without another word marched into the dark, flower petal tunnel. The others couldn't stop him if they tried. All they could do was watch.

Minutes passed and he too was unheard of.

"Now what?" Celestia asked fearfully. "We lost Aragol, Victoria and now Boog too! Aragol was the only one who knew where to go. We're finished..."

Casandra put a hand on the flower and closed her eyes, focusing on communicating with it the same way she had with the massive mushroom. To her surprise, and relief, it conversed with her easily. She smiled as she paid attention to what it said, its voice a collection of images.

"What is it saying?" Karmen asked her when she pulled her hand away. "Did it speak to you?"

Casandra, still smiling, nodded. "Yes, it did. It's our way to the second anchor. We walk through it and come out of a similar flower in front of a misty forest that will lead us to the next anchor."

"Another forest?" Celestia complained. "I am not dressed for a forest!"

"The others are safe?" Karmen asked, her mind on the task and her teammates. "They are through?"

Casandra nodded. "They are and they are waiting for us."

Emboldened by Casandra's words the others gathered together and one by one walked into the flower. The darkness surrounded them completely only a few steps inside and for a while they could not see where they were going. Elmar led the way, the tip of his staff glowing but offering meager light. It was something to focus on, however, and the others followed close behind him. After walking for a distance that felt far too long for the inside of a flower the darkness began to fade and light poured through. They emerged out of the plant to find Aragol, Boog and Victoria waiting for them, standing at the edge of a thick forest of old and gnarled oak trees shrouded in mist.

"About time you all showed up," Victoria jested. "What made you all decide to come along?"

"Casandra talked to the flower," Celestia answered.

"Oh right. Of course she did..."

"Is this the right place?" Karmen asked Aragol. "I remember you telling us that we had a long walk ahead of us."

"The vision only showed me this forest and a mansion deep inside, surrounded by swampland," he replied. "I had assumed that we would have needed to walk to it. I wasn't aware portal flowers existed."

"We've got creatures made out of shadow and mushrooms the size of skyscrapers," Victoria said with a shrug. "Why not flowers that transport you over hundreds of miles?"

"Which way do we go?" Boog asked Aragol, wanting to get moving.

Aragol closed his eyes and focused on the task. He waited and waited. Minutes passed and sweat began to bead on his forehead. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly, his face turning red from the effort. Casandra put a hand on his shoulder after many minutes had gone by.

"You'll burst a blood vessel," she said to him. "Stop and try again later."

"I don't know why it's not working," he said, finally opening his eyes and putting a hand to his head. "How will we know which way to go if we can't determine the direction the mansion is in?"

"We'll find a way," Casandra replied confidently.

"Elmar," Boog said, turning to the short man. "Can you float up over the trees and see if maybe you can find out where this mansion is?"

Elmar nodded. "Good idea." He tapped himself with his staff and began to float into the air as his body lightened into something weighing less than a speck of dust. It was not long before he was over the tops of the trees. He gazed all around him but all he saw was mist and a dark forest of impenetrably thick foliage. He glanced behind him and saw the mushroom forest stretching out for miles. In the distance, near the horizon, he thought he saw the top of the formerly black mushroom. The two forests met and formed a border that stretched far to his left and right. He saw no mansion, however. Disappointed and frustrated he lowered himself back to the ground, gradually increasing his weight until he was back to normal and his feet had touched down.

"Your expression doesn't exactly exhume success," Karmen said dryly, her hands on her hips.

Elmar shrugged. "I looked but saw only trees ahead of us and mushrooms behind us. I saw no mansion..."

"You wouldn't happen to have a compass in one of your pouches, would you?" Victoria asked him with a hopeful grin.

Elmar shook his head. "No. Only buttons..."

Victoria sighed. "Great..."

"I say we just keep walking and maybe we'll find a sign of it somewhere," Boog said, frustrated and getting angry.

"We have no food," Aragol explained. "We have no map and we have no idea which direction is which. We could be walking for days and find nothing."

"Well it ain't my fault I can't bring up the vision to know which way to go!"

"I tried, Boog," Aragol said with a frown. "I will try again when my head stops aching."

"We don't have a lot of time, Aragol. You said so yourself that we have no food."

"There are mushroom trees nearby," Celestia pointed out. "We could eat some of them as we wait."

"Even if we did," Boog said, his eyes still on the silver-haired general, "we can't just grab handfuls of the stuff and hope we have enough to last us. We don't know how long it'll take us to find this mansion."

"I can take you there."

The voice was unfamiliar and the whole group turned toward the misty forest to see a young man leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. He had shaggy dark hair and sparkling hazel eyes. He was dressed in a loose-fitting rag of a shirt that barely covered his chiseled chest and short, torn pants that showed off his firm legs. He wore nothing on his feet.

Victoria found herself weak in the knees. "I'm dreaming, right? There isn't some dreamy guy standing there beside that tree, is there? I must be dreaming. This isn't happening."

"Oh, I'm here," he said to her, giving her a wink that nearly made her swoon. "Thought you all could use some help."

Boog flexed his bulging shoulders. "Who the hell are you? How did you find us?"

The man shrugged. "I could smell you all from miles away. You all really need a bath. Especially you."

Boog growled and clenched his hands into fists. "I could rip you in half in a second, kid."

"I don't doubt that. Do that, though, and you'll never get to that mansion you want to go to."

"What do you know about it?" Aragol asked him, his right hand close to Dragon End's hilt. "Do you know where it is?"

The man nodded. "Don't know much about it, to be honest. I haven't been here for all that long but I do know where it is. I can take you all there."

"Why should we trust you?"

"You don't need to trust me, just follow me. He did say that you might not be willing to take my help, though."

"Who said that?"

"Hooded guy, all in black, has shadows that dance around him all the time. I'm sure you've all met him. He said he was the void or emptiness of space or something."

Aragol and Boog exchanged glances, both alarmed by the news.

"He's telling the truth," Casandra said, her eyes on the young man. "If you don't trust him then trust me. He knows the way."

Victoria moved up to him, her eyes in a haze and an uncharacteristic shyness overcoming her. "Are you a part of our team now?"

"Depends if you want me along," he replied, smiling at Victoria slyly.

"I know I do...I mean, I'd...I'd be glad if you came along." She wanted to touch his chest and used all her might to fight the urge.

"I wouldn't be able to stay, though."

Victoria was taken aback. "What? Why? Why not?"

"He said my stay here was only temporary and that he thought I may be of use to you once you arrived at this forest. I am to assist you in cleansing this anchor and after that my task is done."

"You know of the anchors?" Karmen asked through narrowed eyes. She was studying the young man closely and though she wanted to think she did it solely to be cautious she had to admit that he enjoyed the sight of him.

"A little," he replied, setting his hazel eyes on Karmen's mahogany ones. "Enough to know that it needs to be cured."

"We need to discuss this for a moment," Aragol said to him as he gathered the group together. Victoria stayed by the young man's side, keeping a close eye on him she said, her fingers tingling and wanting nothing more than to run across his whole body.

"He wouldn't know about the anchors if he wasn't sent here like we were," Aragol said to the huddled group members. "Casandra believes everything he has said is true and she hasn't failed us before."

All eyes turned to the young mother. She nodded to them. "I am confident that he is an ally. We need a guide through this forest and for the moment he is our best option."

"What if he's an enemy?" Celestia asked, her eyes wide with concern. "He could be trying to trick us."

"I don't believe he is," Casandra replied.

"He might have powers of his own," Karmen suggested. "Some that may surpass yours, Casandra."

Casandra nodded. "It is a possibility... Yet I feel like we should follow him. I feel drawn to him like we did with the flower."

"That's just your panties talking," Boog said. "He's a charmer and I don't trust charmers."

"I agree with Boog," Ivory said, her voice silent until then. "I've known men like him and they always have second agendas."

"We outnumber him," Elmar reminded everyone. "If he were to try something he would not get far."

Boog liked that idea. "I'd love nothing more than to rip that smirk off of his face."

"What other choice do we have than to follow him?" Graham said, finding courage enough to speak.

"I can try seeing the vision again," Aragol offered half-heartedly. "I doubt the results would differ, however."

"Even if the vision showed you which direction to go," Casandra said, "we would not know what dangers to avoid and the quickest route to the mansion."

"We did fine with the mushroom forest," Boog said with a frown.

"Aragol mentioned a swamp. We could be trying to traverse it for days. This man may be able to help us find a faster way."

Boog growled in disagreement. "I already know where this is going but I don't like it." He looked at Celestia. "Don't let him try anything on you! If I see his hands on you I will rip them off. Casandra can tell you that I mean it this time."

Celestia glanced at the mother.

She nodded. "He is not lying this time."

"So it is settled, then," Aragol said. "We follow him."

They stood straight and eyed the young man. He was speaking to Victoria as she brushed a hand over his chest. The two seemed well-acquainted.

"Victoria!" Boog cried out, startling her and making her rip her hand away from the newcomer and stepping aside, her face red with embarrassment. He walked right up to the dark-haired man and stood at his full height, looking down at him.

"What did you decide?" the man asked with some hesitation. He was meeting Boog's gaze but his stance held less confidence than before.

Boog smiled. He was getting to him and he enjoyed knowing so. "We'll follow you."

The man smiled, regaining some bravery and confidence. "I am glad that that's what you decided on. I just want to return to my world and knowing that you'll follow me brings me one step closer to doing that."

"What do we call you?" Aragol asked him.

"Mine," Victoria breathed dreamily.

The young man pulled himself away from the tree and stood straight. He bowed to everyone and eyed each person in turn. "My name is Zerek and I am honoured to be the one guiding you."