(A/N)

The sneak peek in the last chapter involves the starting two paragraphs. So, let's get started!

"Phew! Is this the Mushroom Forest?" Robin panted. "Yeah…." Smarty said. "Look! Big mushrooms!" Robin pointed to dozens of mushrooms bigger than the original at a corner. The two went over. And that was when they got the shock of their lives….

"How did these things…?!" Robin yelled. "I guess they do this here. It's…. well, magic." Smarty's voice said, as he escaped successfully from a mushroomusing his invisibility powers.

"They are alive!" Robin gasped, staring at the mushrooms. They stood straight up like a man. Except that they were a few inches shorter.

"We've gotta get out of here!" Robin jumped into the air and became a hawk. "Wait for me!" Smarty's voice yelled, and Robin could feel his bird claws being gripped hold of. Smarty became visible and grinned at the sweating hawk.

"Up, up, up and away!" Smarty yelled, and Robin flew off through a leafy entrance which separated the Mushroom Forest and the Crossroads. Unfortunately, many mushrooms followed them, each holding spears and yelling madly.

"I think they don't like people treading on their ground." Smarty felt the first cold beads of sweat dripping down his face. Robin lit up and flew around in circles. Then he tried flying to a distance, but the mushrooms followed them wherever they went.

"It's no good. Looks like we are some kind of super glue." Smarty groaned. Robin threw Smarty onto his back and he swooped down. His claws took hold of a mushroom by the shoulders. It dropped it's spear as it was carried off into the sky.

"Drop him!" Smarty grinned, and Robin let go of the struggling mushroom. It hit the ground and green blood oozed out of it's head. Robin was about to swoop down for more, but Smarty stopped him. "No. That mushroom head is as good as dead."

Robin nodded. "Fly to the Bandit Camp. We might get some help there from Benjamin, Benny, and Nova if we find them." Smarty said. Robin nodded and flew off. The persistent mushrooms ran along, yelling in some kind of language.

Smarty began to sweat-drop. Robin entered the Bandit Camp entrance and the mushrooms followed. They could see Benjamin, Benny, and Nova on a house roof. "Hey!" Smarty waved, as Robin perched on the roof. Robin shapeshifted back.

"We angered them. And they are chasing us wherever we go." Robin rolled his eyes at the amount of mushroom mutants flooding into the city. "Well…. No choice but to fight." Nova said boringly, and snapped his fingers. A dozen mushroom mutants were thrown into the sky by a force and exploded when they reached the stars.

"Fireworks!" Smarty laughed. "My turn! You are not getting all the credit, Nova." Benny's fist flew out of his arm and flew at the mushrooms. Each fist attacked six mushrooms. "That makes twelve too." Benny had a sly smile curling on his lips as the fists fit themselves back into his arms. Nova frowned. Benjamin giggled.

"Why don't we attack them at close range. This ain't doing any help. We can only attack two dozen at once if we stay here. And…." Smarty paused to give a big snort, then continued, "there are almost a hundred over there."

"There are ninety-seven mushroom men altogether." Nova corrected Smarty. "Yeah, yeah, go on." Smarty gave a sarcastic smile. "Actually, I do agree we attack up in close range." Benny muttered. "What are we waiting for?" Benjamin rolled his eyes and lunged at the mushrooms as if they were his predators.

Benny slid down the roof chimney and came out again by the house door. Nova teleported there easily. Smarty jumped onto Robin as he changed into a hawk again and flew toward the flood of mushroom mutants.

"Time to kill!" Benjamin scratched a mushroom at the cheek, leaving a long scar. He clawed it to pieces. "Giant fist attack!" Benny grinned, smashing all the mushrooms in his way with his invincible fist. Nova fired psybeams at the mushrooms running at him, and some were destroyed by his powerful psychic battleaxe. Robin became a giant and stomped on all the mushroom mutants he could see, killing them. Smarty went invisible and knocked out mushrooms one by one with a dagger with the words marked 'Bandit Dagger' which he had found from a nearby barrel emblazoned with the words 'Lokun's Bandit Weapons'.

"This moron here is the last of them." Nova levitated a mushroom into the air. It was struggling to move as it'd been paralyzed by Nova. "I'll spare this guy. I'll gain no benefit in killing him anyway." Nova laughed, and perched the mushroom carefully flying around in circles around a lamp post.

Everybody laughed. Gaping bandits nearby stared. "They are amazed with us." Nova grinned. Suddenly, two tough-looking muscular guys came forward.

"We are the leaders of the Darkwolf Bandit Clan, Aruka, and ShinyClaw Bandit Clan, Haruka! Let us challenge you! If you win, you will have the Bandit Camp all to yourself!" Haruka pointed an accusing finger at us. "Uh, whatever." Benjamin shrugged. Benny nodded. Nova nodded along with him. Smarty and Robin rubbed their hands in glee. They were longing for more action.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Dark Sight!" Aruka disappeared. He was faintly visible. "What kind of thing is that?" Benny exclaimed. "Oho, you don't know? On Maple and Victoria Island and all the other islands existing in this part of Maple Story, the people who are sent here train and when they reach a required level, they can have a job that will grant them access to more powerful skills." Harkua explained.

"That explains. What does Dark Sight do?" Smarty asked. "If someone uses Dark Sight, no one can attack him, but he can't attack anyone else either." Nova said, before Haruka could speak. The two bandit leaders stared at him, amazed. Nova felt quite pleased.

"Well, if he can't attack, that'll put him out of the game for a few moments! Let's go for him, guys!" Benny yelled like a mad dog and charged at Haruka. "Haha, you are brave, boy!" Haruka cackled, and screamed, "Savage Blow!"

"Ouch!!" Benny yelped as Haruka attacked Benny six times at once with his sharp Korean Fan. "What kind of skill was that?!" Benjamin gasped. "It's Savage Blow. It makes the person who is using it damage the opponent six times the usual damage. That means attacking six times at once." Nova said calmly.

"Wanna bet if he could try it on me?" Benjamin grinned and jumped onto the wall before lunging at Haruka. Haruka seemed to be focusing, Benjamin noticed this. He swore he could see Haruka's eye suddenly glowing green, then he yelled, "Lucky Seven!"

Haruka threw some sharp-pointed small daggers at Benjamin, but it missed. Benjamin slapped Haruka before pinning him to the wall. "Guess it doesn't work as I'm a bandit…" Haruka sighed. "Even with Keen Eye."

"Lucky Seven is a skill that allows the opponent to fire throwing daggers or stars. Keen Eye helps the opponent's accuracy get better." Nova explained. Benjamin didn't care. He attacked Haruka, but then he jumped away. Just in time, Haruka had countered back with Savage Blow.

"Well, even if that didn't hit, it still kept you away." Haruka grinned. Aruka stopped using Dark Sight and lunged at Benjamin. "I'm the assassin around here, my Keen Eye will work!" Aruka shot Benjamin a sly smile, and his eye glowed green. And with a simple two words of "Lucky Seven" Benjamin was shot by a throwing dagger by the cheek and another by the arm.

"How did that attacked? I can always dodge attacks!" Benjamin gasped. "Well, that explains we are better than you." Aruka smiled like a fox. "I don't need one of your lectures!" Benjamin yelled angrily, as he lunged at Aruka….

(A/N) Heated-up battle! How are the other brothers doing at Amherst?