I finally am done with this chapter. God I myself am really annoyed at how long it will take to get to the final Hao fight. Hence, I wrote this chapter and the next in one go, and I plan to post the next one in the next day or so (even today maybe). So rest assured within these two chapters all of the plants will be done and we will get to the final showdown. This chapter is dedicated to my new Shaman King fanbook and Manjien :P.

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There, as they turned the corner, everyone seemed to quiet at the magnificent sight in front of them. Small drops of water resounded across the hard rock floor, falling from places that were unknown to the remaining warriors. Even their breaths seemed to be below a whisper. The silence was not felt by any of them, however, as they were far too busy gawking at what lay in front of them. By this time, everyone had come to see the commotion.

Even Chocolove, the fairly loud one, could do nothing but lift his chin up and stare, his hair standing on its end. The only one not seeming surprised in any of this was little Opacho who glided to Yoh's side and looked upon everything as another obstacle that had come between her and Hao. Sati smirked at the ordeal.

They briefly remembered the first time they had seen an elemental spirit, the fear and excitement they felt when Asakura Hao first showed them him the Spirit of Fire (S.O.F.). The red being was so large that even Ren had felt challenged simply by its appearance. However, it did not seem to matter at all, since even that spirit could not prepare them for the others. If anything, these were far more terrifying than the S.O.F. Or maybe it was just the sheer difference between all of them.

Each spirit was different: colors, elements, and appearance distinguished them apart, and none of them knew what to say, which was which, or how to react to them. It was only after a good minute's silence that Sati decided to break the shock, and begin explaining to them, intending to give them to the warriors, who were the world's last hope. For herself, she had her own powerful spirit, but even she could sense that the only ones who would be able to fight Hao would be these mere children in front of her.

"REN!" Sati said strongly, though through the silence the words echoed like an announcement. Ren glanced at her as did the others. Sati stepped towards a spirit, seated on the ground with its head peaking out.

The head itself came to a point and then extending like a pyramid down to the neck. The legs were fairly short, and seemed like those that belonged to a kangaroo. The spirit itself was glowing the color of gold. A yellow shade that Ren had trouble looking at in the darkness but was now getting used to.

"This is the Spirit of Thunder (S.O.T). This is your spirit, and has the elemental properties assigned you. It is known for its strength and power. The arms are lean and thus can be made to do things that the other spirits cannot." Ren nodded at Sati's comments and began circling the spirit in front of him.

"Over here" Sati said, now addressing the blue spirit that was kneeling to the right of the S.O.T, "Is the Spirit of Rain (S.O.R), Horo Horo's companion." Horo Horo attentively looked up and tip-toed closer, almost afraid to make any movements less the spirit move from its knightly position.

Looking upwards, Horo Horo could see the aggregation on its neck, which was probably the head, or so he figured. It looked like a huge junk of pie to him, and something out of that alien movie he had seen a couple nights before. The arms had blade like structures making him afraid to get too close to, but he winced at the thought of how an enemy might feel if touched by it. The knee area had coverings extending almost up to what could be called the pelvic bone.

"Your spirit is adept in using ice and water. It's hands have very good defense, in case needed."

Leaving Horohoro to the spirit, Sati now slid next to the other two spirits that were standing in the back of the other two. For these, she looked impatiently at Chocolove and Yoh, who took their cue to follow. Cutting between the S.O.T. and S.O.R, the two bent their neck upwards to see the weird things that were in front of them.

To the right was a sort of angelic like spirit that was a blinding white. Wings bordered its waist, and arms, while the legs were more like pieces that seemed to look like a birds. The head had the same aerodynamic structure with a point going from the back and one swooping beneath its chin. This was…

"The Spirit of Wind (S.O.W). This one has the power of flight and can attack from above. It is the most swift of the spirits."

Finally, Sati stared at Yoh, who had re-established his familiar goofy grin upon his face. The spirit he was standing under was by far the largest in size. It looked more like a gigantic rock than any sort of elemental spirit. Instead of feet it had these drill like points that looked like screws. The body had a lot of mass and as Chocolove stepped behind Sati he thought to himself that just one hit from THAT could knock anyone flat. The color certainly fit Yoh's character: it was green A/N: Verde! (I'm sorry I couldn't resist).

"That, is the last spirit, the Spirit of Earth (S.O.E). The spirit itself tends to be slow, but it's powers might be the greatest of all- it has the highest strength and defense. Although extremely lacking in speed, it can create protection for not only itself, but for others. Certainly befitting…"

Sati then faced all the warriors, including Lyserg who had positioned himself in front of all. She began instructing them.

"These spirits are very large in their true form, however, you can compress them- as Asakura Hao did with the S.O.F, they are the elements found in the world, so it makes sense for them to seemingly hide themselves in the surroundings until they are needed."

"The spirits size reflect the size of your foryoku and will, which explains why Lyserg's S.O.F. is far smaller than Hao's although still intimidating. Also remember that you can combine these spirits, or use two or more spirits at once, just as Silva did in his form. This way you don't have to abandon your guardian spirit. But still remember that the furyoku should be properly distributed to your standards among these spirits."

At this, the warriors looked at the S.O.F, and noticed for the first time that the spirit was indeed large, but not nearly as large as when Hao had used it.

"How do we compress it?" Ren said, very straightforward in what he wanted to know.

"Will them to do so, just as you would undo your oversoul. And then when you need them, they'll appear" At this, everyone's spirits vanished, and Yoh let out a huge sigh in relief.

"So how did you get them?" Horo Horo asked Sati

"Not really your concern. Just know they are yours." Everyone knew not to question any further. Once again, there was a brief moment of silence which lasted until Yoh decided to break it.

"Well, now that we have this taken care of, let's get onto the next plant." He stated, heading towards the door that had been long forgotten due to the fight Silva had begun. The others followed him without any arguments, Sati's quiet steps resounding in the back of the line. However, something was definitely different this time around.

"… is it just me or…" Chocolove commented.

"…no… the door…" Horo Horo responded, not even letting the afro-headed boy finish.

The large door which was, just a couple minutes back, tightly shut, now stood open, ominously inviting the group within itself. The group stared suspiciously, surprised, since previously the plant doors had always remained closed until they approached and it manually opened. However, this time around, it was open. This perplexed the warriors, most of all Ren, who suspiciously eyed the pathway. In either case, no one wanted to make the first move.

"Hmm that is weird. Oh well." Yoh said, unconsciously relieving all the suspicions of the group. Sati merely stared ahead.

"Hey Redseb, are you coming?" Chocolove addressed the little boy who did not seem to move from where he was standing.

"No… I think I have had enough. I am tired, I miss my sister… my mother. I am not of any help, I couldn't do anything… to help them, to help you, or even myself…" Redseb replied slowly, tears coming to his eyes. Yoh smiled slowly, walking back towards him and grasping him around the shoulders tightly.

"I understand. Don't worry you can stay here. But please, we need you desperately to do one more important thing." Redseb nodded slowly at this, the tears now flooding his face and blurring his eyesight.

"Watch over Ryu's body with Tokageroh" Yoh pointed towards the lifeless form at the other end. "I don't want anything to happen to it. We can still revive him in due time, and we'll be back soon. Please just do that." Redseb nodded now, wiping his nose on his sleeve, on which Yoh kissed his tiny forehead, and headed back to the remaining group, positioning himself in front of them.

At this, the group slowly stepped within the plant, walking forward until their faces gawking at the beauty that lay before them.

This plant was obviously the plant of the forest. Within it were luscious trees of all shapes and sizes alive with the noises resounding from their inhabitants. Where the group entered, the trees were sparingly spaced out but as they looked ahead they could see the dense forest ahead. The ground was green and moist, smelling just like freshly-cut grass in the morning dew. But in a matter of minutes, as the warriors and followers made their way down the grassy pathway littered with palms, darkness engulfed them. The dense foliage had grown visibly thicker, decreasing the amount of light penetrating through the leaves above. Now slowing their steps, the crowd could hear the animal sounds getting louder, drowning out whatever silence that was left. The wanderers began to pair unconsciously; Chocolove with Opacho on his back clung to Horohoro, Ren walked alongside the frightened Jun, and Sati moved towards the front with Yoh. Faust, Amidamaru, and Bailong chatted quietly in the back. Soon enough, their eyes began trying to adjust to the increasingly dense canopies, while the soles of their shoes sank into the wet soil below them. Sati lifted her dress, raising it slightly above her ankles, and pulling two clips from her hair, pinning the two sides of her gown to keep from dragging.

"Sister, will you stop that." Ren attempted to address Jun quietly, which, after being carried through the humid air, seemed like a command. At this Jun loosened her grip on Ren's arm and edged closer to Bailong.

"It's good we are sticking together, because I have a feeling we might run into some dangerous animals here." Horohoro uttered.

"Ya… like Tigers, Lions, or Bears." Chocolove answered.

"Bears don't live in jungles." Lyserg instinctively said.

"In either case… we should be a bit more quiet and listen to the sounds around us. Anna always told me that if I ever got lost to listen and the animals would guide me through." Yoh commented.

"I'm guessing you were lost often" Sati thought out load. At this, Yoh laughed quietly, and the others just shook their heads at his stupidity. Sometimes even they wondered how someone as strong as Anna could stand to be around him. But then again, Anna did like bossing people around, and Yoh was certainly easy to control. Of course, the same question could be asked of Yoh.

Timed perfectly with Yoh's remark, Sati halted and held out her slender arm motioning the others to do the same. Chocolove began to comment, but was met with Horohoro's finger on top of his lips, signaling him not to say anything. The forest had suddenly grown quiet.

Suddenly, before they knew it, they heard a hiss, and listening closely, the gang glanced on top of the tall branch above them. Slithering around his humble abode, a camouflaged snake darted it's yellow cat-like eyes towards the prey below. As fast as they had seen it, the snake suddenly propelled itself from the tree and landed straight into Jun's hair. Jun let out a scream, out of which Ren, horrified, took the handle of his weapon and tried to push it off with no luck.

Horohoro and Chocolove came to the rescue, but when they tried to remove the gripping snake, the snake jolted it's head towards them, forcing them to take a step back. Ren, now noticing that Yoh wasn't trying to help, looked at the other three who were, now, face to face with a huge tiger. Instincts told Ren to help, though he had to help his sister first. But, when he looked at Jun, she pointed towards the tiger.

"Help them first!" and when Ren hesitated. "Go! This thing won't harm me right now, and I'll try to fling it off." And at this the group ran towards the Tiger, creating their old oversouls (A/N: not the elemental spirits they had just obtained).At the end, though, none of it was important as Lyserg's oversoul conquered it with only one attack, leaving Yoh and Sati simply amused. Now to turn attentions back to Jun…

Jun was apparently trying to take the serpent off the top of her hair, Bailong trying to help her with no luck. Ren, the first to rush to his sisters side, now took used full force on the scaled being, and pushed the handle straight on top of Jun's head pushing the snake off. It fell off easily at this point, and Jun sighed in relief. Smirking, Ren turned around confidently, commanding the rest.

"Come on let's move. We already wasted too much time here."

At this the group moved forward, Jun lagging behind as she was trying to look where the snake had gone, since she hadn't caught sight of it after it fell off her head. The group slowed their steps now, taking notice of the environment around them, eased with the return of the simple caw from the birds in the green flora. Opacho, tired of riding on the back of Chocolove, pushed herself down from his back, and rushed towards a tree before anyone could object.

"Opacho!" Chocolove ran protectively towards her. When he reached her he noticed what she had found. Above their heads was a coconut palm tree. Chocolove although amused at how such a climate could have coconut trees, instinctively knew what Opacho was getting at. He quickly climbed upwards with an amazing speed and was already three-fourths to the top before the rest of them could see what was going on. Jokingly, he threw a coconut at the poor unsuspecting Horohoro.

"HEYYY!" Horohoro yelled, now grabbing the attention of the others who were still marching forward. Horohoro first glared feriously at the smiling Chocolove who was wound around the trunk of the tree.

"Look what I hit you with, will you!"

At this Horohoro glanced at the coconut, and as Chocolove had predicted, almost entirely forgotten about the culprit who had through the rock-like fruit at him. His hunger taking over, Horohoro took the coconut and smashed it against a large boulder, opening it in half. The first half he gave to the small Opacho was sitting under tree, and the other he began eating himself.

"Hey! Pass some to the rest of us will you!" Ren barked, with which he was met with a rain of coconuts. After throwing down a good 10 coconuts, Chocolove climbed back down, and helped break them open. At this new source of food, the group ate peacefully, satisfying their hunger, chatting about the weird plants around them, and giving them energy enough to keep moving towards their goal. Grabbing whatever was left over, they headed off. Opacho, after insisting to keep one whole coconut to herself, waddled alongside Lyserg who smiled at her small body holding something so very large in comparison. Faust smiled at everyone.

Walking closely together for another five minutes, they noted that the light was returning once again, and quickened their steps towards what they figured would be the next Patch fight. Whoever it is, we are going to be ready for them. Ren thought to himself, though he himself was tired from all the walking and fights they had currently had. Finally, after another two minutes, the warriors found themselves amidst an open area, littered with trees, but not as many as before. But surprisingly enough, instead of meeting with a new Patch member, they once again met with a strange phenomenon.

"The door…"

"is open?" Ren finished Lyserg's sentence.

The patch they were expecting was non existent, and the door was open to them as free passage.

"I don't understand… aren't all the doors guarded by a Patch member. All of the Patch members we have fought were in a plant."

"Maybe they just took a break" Yoh joked with Ren, who in turn just hit him over the head.

"Don't be stupid Yoh." the annoyed Chinese boy said.

"Well it only makes sense if no one is here, plus the door in the front was open too, remember?"

"That's true, but there must be a better explanation."

"Hmm perhaps, but why don't was just go then. Obviously it's open for us."

"Has it ever crossed your mind that this might be a trap? In actuality does anything really cross your mind?"

"Hehe, stop joking Ren."

"I'm not joking…"

As Ren bickered with the Asakura who was obviously having fun, Jun now saw the leaves behind them moving. At first it seemed like the simple wind, but she narrowed her eyes for a better perception. It seems like some sort of animal. It's obviously camouflaged. Bailong and I are ready to take whatever it is. Maybe it's that snake from before…but as soon as the thought had crossed her mind, everything stopped moving. Jun, concerned, shifted her view, and noticed that even Sati seemed to be scouting the terrain behind them. She must have seen it too...

Then, abruptly, Jun saw it once more, the leaves were moving again, and Sati's head snapped to the disturbance. It was no longer behind them, but right in front of…

"REN!" Jun tried to warn, running towards the confused boy while Bailong scampered after her. But, at the end, this did not amount to anything as the strike came at lightning speed. Suddenly the same serpent that had nestled into Jun's hair had assaulted its' own symbiotic partner.

"Nee-san!" Ren yelled, as Jun now lay behind Ren, Knowing that Ren could not have moved in time, Jun had pushed Ren to the ground, while the poisonous fangs dug into her own slender ankle. In seconds she screamed in pain and plunged towards the floor, holding the new formed tears in her eyes.

"Move." The Faust commanded, immediately pushing himself through. "Ren come here, you need to put your mouth to this wound and suck out the blood. The poison hasn't gotten into the main bloodstream yet." The dead doctor said, pulling Jun's leg towards him, leaving Bailong to cradle Jun's head, and pointed Ren towards the wound. Ren did as told, occasionally spitting out the accumulation in his mouth onto the flourishing grass. Bailong's tears dripped on top of Jun's face, who smiled back and tried to wipe them away.

"Okay. That should be fine. But she can't move from here. The venom from that snake is not that poisonous, so whatever is left in her blood stream shouldn't kill her. But she needs to be watched over carefully."

"Move her closer to the door, else another creature…" at this Sati flung a sharp rock at a bunch of leaves, out of which the snake slithered away, "do anymore harm." The group carried her to the door and set her down to the right.

"I should stay and watch over her." Ren said.

"Don't be stupid, we can come back to her later, you all are wasting more time, by now the Shaman King ceremony might have even ended." Sati countered.

"All you care about is your agenda! She's my SISTER!" fired Ren.

"Your sister or the world?"

"I'll stay. She needs to be watched over by a real doctor, and Bailong will help me." At this Bailong smiled through his never ending tears. "You have Sati if anyone dies."

"Please take care of her." The Chinese boy said.

"Yes. Now go." At this, everyone nodded, and the remaining group; Chocolove, Lyserg, Yoh, Ren, Opacho, Horohoro and Sati, headed towards the last four plants.

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Author's Notes:

Is it wrong to enjoy killing off characters? Hehe… Do you guys want me to link the pictures of the Elemental Spirits for reference?