SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 17 out, this is Chapter 18 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Pairings: Tao Ren/Fem!OC, Yoh/Anna

Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing, except this plot and pairing.

Chapter 18: Great Spirits

Some time later...

"How long do we have to walk for the Shaman Fight?" Horo Horo whined after the group stopped to rest for the night."

"Where's the Patch Village?" Chocolove wondered.

"How pathetic." Ren snorted. "It's because you guys are so slow. We can't get there now matter how long we walk."

"Yea, but..." Chocolove voiced.

"Enough." Ren shot back. "You guys can stay here for the rest of your lives.

"Don't get so irritated." Ryu played peacemaker. "We almost crossed the black desert."

"He's right." Yoh agreed and turned back to the vast desert. "The valley of the red river, pass through the black desert, and head for the blue cave."

"We're finally going to reach the blue cave." Ryu declared.

"I don't things are going to go so smoothly." Ren reasoned. "Besides, we don't even know if this is the black desert."

"But, it's black." Yoh pointed out.

"That's because it's night." Ren reminded. "It was red in the afternoon."

"You sure this is the right place?" Horo Horo was worried.

"I don't know." Ren retorted. "That's why I said we don't have any time to waste."

"This is bad." Horo Horo gasped. " "What'll we do if we went the opposite direction?"

"Can I say something?" Manta cut in. "Are you guys headed for the black desert?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Horo Horo fired back.

"What I was trying to say is... wasn't it the 'black sandstorm'?" Manta asked. "See?"

Insert replay from the Four Seminoan Warriors' speech.

"This isn't the time to laugh." Anna scolded when the boys burst into nervous laughter. "What are you going to do?"

"Stop arguing." Tokageroh cut the boys' squabble short. "You should be ashamed. This isn't the wrong way."

"The black sandstorm will come blowing late at night." Bason voiced.

"The blue cave is just up ahead." Amidamaru confirmed. "Someone is calling us."

"The Great Spirits?" Ren guessed.

"I don't know." Bason answered.

"Is that your spiritual sense?" Ryu wondered.

"Let's just leave it to that." Tokageroh replied.

"It looks like our goal is very close." Manta noted.

"It's still far ahead." Anna corrected. "There are many obstacles we have to overcome before we can reach the true goal."

"You mean Hao?" Manta blinked.

"I'm talking about everyone." Anna stated. "Because only one person can become Shaman King. Hui Ling already made glutinous rice dumplings for dessert." she informed the boys. "She's going to be great wife." she gave Ren a knowing smirk.

The next morning...

"What happened?" the gathered Shamans exclaimed in unison when the ruins of the Patch Village appeared before their eyes.

"There wasn't anything like that here last night." Ryu pointed out.

"What are those things?" Horo Horo gawked.

"Ruins." Chocolove answered.

"That's not what I meant!" Horo Horo snapped. "Things don't just pop up like that."

"Do you feel it?" Tokageroh asked his fellow Guardian Spirits.

"There is no mistake." Bason agreed.

"It's inside those ruins." Amidamaru confirmed. "The blue cave."

Inside the ruins...

"I can't believe there's a lake here." Ren remarked, the group were now standing by a large lake in the ruins.

"They're back." Yoh noted, having sent Amidamaru and the other Guardian Spirits to scoop out the lake. "See anything?"

"We found it." Amidamaru reported.

"We found a shimmering blue tunnel under here." Bason confirmed.

"But, the tunnel appears to be quite long." Amidamaru noted. "Yoh and the others should be okay, but we're not sure about Anna and the rest."

"We'll be fine." Anna assured. "We'll go after you guys; we have a glyph enchanter here." she pointed to Hui Ling.

"You do realize I'm going to need runestones, right?" Hui Ling deathpanned.

"I see." Yoh nodded. "We'll go ahead then."

"This is..." Hui Ling frowned when her medium started glowing and she produced the jade Lotus Lantern; said Lantern then shot off a beam of emerald light towards the blue shining cave on the stone wall.

"You're pretty late, Master." Ryu greeted Yoh, who was the last of join the group in an outdoor cafe.

"What were you doing?" Horo Horo chided. "Hurry up and sit down."

"Karim's fried noodles are pretty good." Chocolove added. "Do you want some as well?"

"But the Patch Village is such a relaxed place." Horo Horo remarked.

"You think so?" Chocolove wondered. "Everyone here is a Shaman. Only the best of the best made it here. Everyone must feel an overwhelming sense of tension."

"You were saying, Mr. Gag Master?" Hui Ling rolled her eyes, pointing to the Lily Five group.

"Or not." Chocolove muttered.

"See?" Horo Horo sighed. "Even people like them made it here."

"It's alright." Yoh smiled. "By the way, Manta, how did you guys get here?"

"There was a blue cave in the ruins." Manta replied.

"Yes, a blue cave." Anna nodded.

"It's ridiculous, don't you think?" Ryu complained. "They're saying that there was another cave."

"However," Hao cut in. "Only the chosen Shamans can catch a glimpse of the Holy Land of Stars. What do you think?" he addressed his twin. "Were you excited?"

"Yeah," Yoh answered. "It was amazing, like I thought it would be."

"However," Marco intervened. "It is something that you will never have a chance of obtaining."

"Attention please." Goldva's voice sounded from the loudspeaker. "You have done well to have come this far. I welcome you all. Although it may be a bit sudden, let me first welcome you to the start of the Shaman Fight. I, Goldva, will first explain the rules then."

"So, what are you going to do?" Anna asked the gathered participants in a nearby forest later. "The main fight is a team battle with groups of three. How are you going to divide it up?"

"It's going to be hard to decide since we've been with each other for so long." Manta pointed out.

"I will follow Master wherever he goes." Ryu declared.

"And since I'm the resident doctor of the Funbari Onsen." Faust voiced, automatically teaming up with Yoh and Ryu.

"Then, it's decided." Ren stated, gathering Horo Horo and Chocolove.

"That was decided quite quickly." Hui Ling gawked.

"Hold on." Manta voiced. "Is it alright to decide it like that?"

"It's okay." Ren assured. "Although they say it's a team battle, it's a temporary thing. Since only one person will remain at the end."

"We finally arrive at the Patch Village, yet..." Bason sighed, watching Ren and the others walk off.

"What a bunch of relaxed people." Tokageroh whined.

"It's their destiny to fight with one another eventually." Amidamaru stated. "But it seems it will be a friendly fight."

"Quite true." Hui Ling agreed.

"Young Mistress?" Bason questioned, noticing Hui Ling's attention was caught by something in the woods.

"I'm okay." Hui Ling assured her lover's Guardian Spirit. "Maybe I just getting paranoid." what was the two killing intent I just sensed?

SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.