Dead Mans Party

Chapter 15

I'll See You Again Soon...

Hao narrowed his eyes at the green haired shaman, amazed he had dared to interfere. Had he not see the others? Not seen the wandering corpses...well the two or three that were still up and running. Had he not felt the aura of darkness and hate? Perhaps the boy did not care, was actually willing to throw his pathetic life away. Hao then turned, letting go of Yoh's hair, Yoh falling slowly to the ground his eyes slowly closing, as he emitted a soft moan.

Lyserg watched his friend fall, felt even more hatred rise in himself, felt his cool blood, boil now, the very thought of Hao easily driving the boy into a state of bloodlust and fury. He wanted Hao dead, knew that with his death, not only would the world be safe, but everyone else, and aside from that, Lyserg would finally be able to avenge his mother and father's death. ...soon... he thought, preparing himself. ...soon i'll avenge you both...

The other shamans watched now, including Anna, shocked to see Lyserg, the boy whom was once their friend, but had left the group to join the X-Laws. Of corse the others were upset, after all, they had risked their necks to save the young shaman and in the end he just got up and left without so much as a goodbye, deeming the others weak and no longer his freinds. ...strange then that he'd be here helping us... thought Len, a bit uneasy on the whole situation at hand. For all he knew, this was some part of the X-Laws crazy plan to "clense the world" which just happend to include the good guys getting whiped out with the bad guys. ...perfect... thought Len, pushing a massive tree trunk off his trapped foot. His side was killing him again, and no wonder why, the damn bandage had been blow off when Hao had sent him and the others flying.

He then stood, wincing, looking around now. "Trey! Ryo" he called, and breathed easier when he heard the two. "We're here." said Trey, rubbing the back of his head. Len looked to the blue haired shaman, saw a large bump at the edge of his hairline, figured it was from being clonked in the head with a branch or a rock. It was then that Len felt a seering pain at his right temple. "Damn it..." he thought, kneeling now. Not only did he have a matching bump on the oppisite side of his head, but was also almost out of furioku altogether. "Dude, don't move" yelled Trey, leaping to Len now, kneeling to the boy, examining him. "Get off" shouted Len pushing Trey onto his back. "I'm fine...just tired." he snapped, forcing himself to his feet, hiding his pain. Trey only growled, sitting up. "Dude! I'm trying to help you damn it" he roared, annoyed with Len's I-don't-need-you-or-anyone-for-that-matter additude. Len only rolled his eyes, waving a hand at the boy. "Enough, just shut up." he said, Trey blinking some. "This isn't the time. We need to get to Yoh..." Len stated, looking to Trey seriously now, Trey nodding. "Right" he said, giving a thumbs up before heading off to get Ryo... wherever he was.

Anna was beyond pissed, beyond tired, and beyond annoyed at being pinned to this God-forsaken tree. She summoned all her strenght now, tugging at the ropes, wincing and moaning painfully, and blinked when she felt herself falling foward, landing on her hands and knees, shocked. ...i'm free... she thought, getting to her knees now, removing the remaimning rope about her wrist, rubbing them indignantly. They were sore and red, aside from the fact they had deep red rings around them. ...damn that rope... she thought, cursing it once more before fully getting to her feet.

She looked around now, saw Lyserg and Hao, both seeming to size one another up, probably getting ready to duke it out. ...good for them... thought Anna plainly. ...let them take each other out, so long as they don't take Yoh and the others with them... she continued, trailing off and blinked at the mention of Yoh's name.

...Yoh... she thought, knew Hao had hit him hard, knew Yoh had gone down and hadn't got up. Anna quickly scanned the area, looked past Lyserg, saw Yoh, still flat on his back, not moving at all. ...oh no... she thought, felt a wave of panic wash over her. Without hesitation, she ran towards him, passing Hao and Lyserg on the way, neither showing her any mind.

Hao countined to eye Lyserg, caught Anna running by out of the corner of his eye, was enraged. ...damn it... he thought, noting he had finally had her in his grasp and once again she was free and with her pathetic excuse for a fiance. ...nevermind that... he thought, smirking a bit. ...it won't take us long to deal with this one, then we can get right back on corse... he thought assuredly, getting into his stance. "I'll be sure to send you where I sent your parents..." he spoke coldly, Lyserg narrowing her green eyes, once again feeling his blood boil.

As if in silent agreement, both went to move, but stopped a stir of voices from behind the young shaman freezing the two. "Not if we can help it" shouted a now beat up Trey, once again sharing unity with his spirit, though not for long. Hao only glaired, facing him some. "You and what army" he asked mockingly. Trey only smiled.

Anna fell to her knees beside Yoh, shaking him gently. "Yoh" she shouted, continuing to shake him by his shoulders, was heartbroken when she didn't recieve any response. "Yoh, please open your eyes" she cried, feeling more and more panicked by the second. Why wasn't he responding? ... is he...? She froze, stairing down at him wide-eyed. ...oh God no... she thought, drawn back a bit. He couldn't be, he just couldn't be! It was only a damn punch to the stomach! ...more like a freight train to the stomach... she thought bitterly, trying her best to push the black thoughts aside. The last thing she needed was to have a panic attack right there, at this moment, when Yoh and the others needed her most.

She wanted to give up so bad, was so tired, was in so much pain, knew she didn't have the strenght left to stand, let alone move. All she could do now was sit here and pray, with all her heart and soul that Yoh would wake up. "Please Yoh..." she choked, shaking him gently again, beyond sadness and shock. ...oh God...is he...? she thought, quicky closing her eyes and clenching her teeth. ...no...! her mind screamed, tears already beginning to run down her crimson cheeks. "Yoh Please" she shouted, refusing the give up on him. "You have to wake up. You have to! I know you can hear me, so please! Get up" she cried, shaking her head. "Yoh" she shouted, leaning down now, pulling him into her lap, hugging him tightly. "I love you..." she whispered, her tears hitting the deep brown Earth silently, waiting, wishing, hoping, praying he'd awaken soon, knew if he didn't she'd never forgive herself...or Hao for that matter.

Yoh was in his own little world, though not exaclty sure where that was. All he knew was that he was in pain and saw nothing but darkness. ...where am I...? he thought, could only see darkness. He winced some, everything hurting. He was out, that was for sure, knew he was because of his inability to move, however, figured he was still somewhat alive...he hadn't seen any light. ...can't just stay here...Hao- Yoh growled, trying hard to get himself to move, but to no avail, could still only see darkness. ...great, now what...? he thought, was getting sick of just sitting there, in his little dark place, waiting, with no idea of what was happening to his friends and Anna.

...Anna... he thought, wasn't sure where she was now, what Hao might be doing to her... ...damn it Wake up...! he snapped at himself, still unable to do anything. What was going on out there? Why was Lyserg there? Had he been able to stop Hao? Or just delay the inevitable...? Yoh didn't know, and personally didn't care, would rather see what was happening first hand, then to wake up at the end. He continued to let his thoughts drift, when he heard something. ...huh...? he thought, glancing into the dark. He narrowed his eyes some, hearing it again, listening now, closer, longer.

...it's them... he thought, blinking some, He could hear them, his friends, calling to him, to Anna..and blinked more, noting it wasn't his freinds who were calling now, it was Anna. ...Anna... he thought, looking around now, searching for her, still seeing only darkness. "Yoh" she called, Yoh looking up, at where he thought the sky had been. ...Anna! Anna I'm here...! he shouted, though knew she couldn't hear him, seeing as she contiuned to call for him. "Yoh you have to get up! Wake up Yoh! Wake up" Yoh looked down sadly, was afraid he wasn't going to be able to get up...then glaired into the darkness, his determintaion shining through. ...but I can try...

Anna turned now, screaming slightly, was Lyserg's douser went wizzing by her head. She had somehow managed to dodge the damn thing, had fallen foward enough to cling to her passed out fiance. She then glaned back, couldn't help but wonder if he had done it on purpose, or by accident...and noticied it had been on account of both. He had apparently went to strike Hao, but Hao had hit the pendelum back, sending it towards her. Lyserg had looked back at her, but didn't show much emotion, just seemed to jerk his weapon back to him and return his focus back onto the battle. Anna knew she needed to get out of there, and Yoh too, but of corse her body had other plans, like leaveing her legs and arms in aches, so she couldn't move. ...perfect... she thought, trying hard to lift Yoh and herself, but to no avail. ...Come on Yoh...wake up... she thought, getting worried, because Hao and Lyserg were really starting to get into it now, tossing each other around like ragdolls, smashing trees, rocks, tombstones, and fences as if they were nothing at all, knew that if her and Yoh didn't get moving quick, the fences and such weren't going to be the only things getting smashed and tossed about. ...we are...!

Yoh continued to peer into the darkness, sick of it and of being trapped here in his isolated mind. It wasn't until he heard a scream, that he actually started to feel panicky. ...Anna...! He looked around frantically now, wasn't sure what was happening, only knew that Anna needed him to protect her, and that ment he needed to wake up! ...Wake up! Wake up! Wake up...! his mind screamed, as he held his head in his hands, summoning all his strenght to finally jolt himself awake.

Anna continued to watch the other two shaman duke it out, all the while holding Yoh in her arms, waiting for him to wake. She was really starting to lose it, was sure that Yoh was never going to wake up, that Hao would defeat Lyserg, defeat the others, and then defeat her and Yoh. She had been trying hard to keep herself on track, to focus on them and what they were doing, to not let her mind travle into the darkness, to stay postive, but it was so hard, so hard when Yoh was laying there, so quite, not moving, as if in eternal sleep. "Yoh...please..." she whispered, leaning down now to embrace him once more, shocked as to what happend next.

...Wake up...! his mind screamed, Yoh's eyes slowly parting, cool droplets falling onto them and his face. ...wha...? he thought, a little confused. What was happening now? He blinked a bit, hadn't moved, had only stared up into the grey-ish black sky, noting it was a storm, that it was just beginning to rain now. It kind of felt good on his sore body, was cool and calming as he closed his eyes, a sweet scent filling his nose. He then blinked a bit realized he wasn't on the ground but being supported by someone, that someone was holding him close, hugging him tight, protecting him, and that someone was Anna. "Anna..." he said softly, Anna blinking rapidly, shocked at the sound of his voice. She blinked , sitting up now, looking down at him, shocked to see him wearing the same dumbfounded expression that was probably on her face. ...he's ok... she thought, and without warning, embraced him again, tightier, holding him now, refusing to let go. Yoh only blinked, quickly hugging her back the same, then winced, sore from head to toe. "Oh, are you ok" she asked, leaning back some to look at him. He smiled a bit, before giving a cheesy grin and a thumbs up. "Like I said Anna..." he began, slowly sitting up. "This is nothing compared to your boot camp" he finished, laughing some Anna smiling softly, so glad to see he was ok and was also feeling much better herself, had felt knotted muscle calm, feeling less tense now as she slowly got to her feet.

Yoh watched her, smiling some, glad to see she was ok. He then continued to sit, closing his eyes and blinked, yelling out a bit when Anna kicked him hard in his rear. "Yow" he yelled, Anna standing behind him now, her hands on her slim hips. "Don't you ever worry me like that again, you got it" she said firmly, Yoh only blinking rapidly, quickly agreeing. "Yes" he shouted, rubbing his sore bottom now. "Good, now get out there and finish this." she stated, the two looking at one another, Yoh blinking slightly. Anna's expression was solid and determined, and he knew she was telling him to finish not because she wanted him to, but because he had to. Lyserg was strong, but Hao was still stronger, and only Yoh alone stood a chance of actually taking care of him once and for all.

He then smiled some, Anna doing the same, her arms crossed before her chest now, watching as Yoh struggled to get to his feet. She was already in motion, taking his hands and lifting him, him in turn emitting painful and muffled moans. She then looked to him, Yoh smiling through the pain, still holding her hands tight. "Thanks Anna..." he said softly, Anna nodding some, letting her forehead rest against his, closing her eyes. Yoh smiled softly, doing the same, so glad she was alright, so glad he could hold her once more. Anna sighed some, didn't want to move, but did at her mind's command. ...for God's sake, you're not on a damn vacation, you're in the middle of a damn battlefield, move your ass...! She frowned some, looking to Yoh now, him blinking, looking back at her. "Can you finish this..." she asked, Yoh blinking a bit, then smirked "Of corse." he stated, Anna smiling. "I know you can..." she said softly, Yoh smiling, stroking her now wild hair. "Thanks Anna..." he repeated once more, before kneeling to grab his sword, turning from her now. She watched, knew he was going to go off now to take care of things, and wished she could go with him, but knew doing so would not only endanger her life, but his and the others as well. Aside from that, Yoh needed to focus and that ment him not getting distracted by her, or by Hao attacking her. For the time being, she needed to stay out of the way, out of sight and out of mind, until the battle was over.

Hao was getting annoyed now, had blasted the other shamans back for the 100th time, and yet they were still able to get back up. ...damn them... he growled, knew he was getting tired, that his furioku was also getting low and that in a few short moments he would be running on fumes, having to do things the old fashioned way, using his fist. He didn't care personally, knew a few quick blows to the gut or a couple of punches to the face would take them down quickier then a sickle taking down a blade of grass. ...of corse, I have to actually get a chance to hit them first... he thought, once again batting Lyserg's pendulum away. The boy was quick, he'd give him that, but was no stronger then the others. ...only reason he is strong, is because he hasn't had an ass-kicking yet... he noted, narrowing his eyes once more, knew that if the boy had been a victim of the skeletal assault, he too would be weak, like the others.

Lyserg quickly recovered his weapon, once again preparing himself and his spirit. He knew Hao was getting tired and such, and knew that this was the perfect time to strike. ...gotta take him out... thought the young shaman, lashing out once more at Hao with amazing speed. ...even if it means taking out my friends in the process... he thought sadly.

Lyserg didn't like it, the thought of having the kill the only other shamans who he actually had considered to be his friends. However, he knew that Yoh and Hao were brothers and in turn, knew Yoh wouldn't dream of harming Hao, at least not kill him anyway. ...then why had Hao attacked him...? he wondered, but quickly pushed the thoughts aside. Marcco had been clear about the task at hand, that Lyserg needed to get rid of Hao, even if it ment getting rid of a few of his old friends...

...if they were your friends, then they would have joined you, joined the X-Laws to save the world, and rid it of Hao and his evil, but they didn't, they chose to go against you...to fight on their own, creating chaos, and Yoh..he chose to protect the boy responsible for your parents' deaths...and you call that friendship...? Lyserg moaned a bit in anger and sadness, biting his lower lip some. He had been so close with his parents, and had felt the same kind of closeness to Yoh and the others, even if just for a moment, and now, now he was going to have to kill them all, and for what? A chance to save this world? A world that people could careless about? It didn't make sense. ...nothing makes sense anymore... he thought bitterly. ...nothing... he repeated, lashing out once more, noted that Len and Trey had joined the battle now, that Trey had nearly been impailed on the pendulum.

"Dude! Watch out" shouted the ice shaman, falling onto his rear, Len leaping to his side, giving an icy glare to Lyserg. Lyserg blinked a bit, but quickly turned his gaze away, his weapon once again returning to him. "Is this your idea of clensing the world" asked Len, Lyserg blinking a bit as he turned his attention back to the violet haired shaman. Len glaired more, continuing to speak. "By killing us in the process of killing Hao? By taking out your friends lives, you clense the world" Lyserg glaired some, resuming his stance. "You would never understand..." he whispered, once again dashing at Hao, Hao kneeling now, leaping over the boy, and yet, was slammed hard onto the ground. He blinked a bit, shocked, but had rolled the second he had hit the Earth, once again, dodging the berage of attacks from Lyserg and the other shamans. ...son of a bitch... thought Hao, throughly annoyed, knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. He needed to either get rid of Lyserg and the others, or get the hell out of here.

"Just give up." said a now over confident Ryo, Hao only smirking as he whiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "I was never one to back down from a fight..." he stated, summoning what furioku he had left to blast Ryo and the other shamans down. He then blinked a bit, had sensed Lyserg behind him, knew the boy had sent out his weapon once more, but this time Hao was ready...

Without warning, he turned, backhanding the pendulum hard, sending it hurrling back at the weilder at incrediable speeds. Lyserg only blinked, didn't have time to think, let alone move, his eyes widdening exceptionally when he felt a sharp pain in his upper left arm. He knelt, holding it tight, wincing, knew he had been struck with his own weapon, though knew it wasn't a fatal wound, just a painful one, one that would keep him out of Hao's hair for a bit.

Hao smirked now, chuckling softly, before roaring out with insane laughter. He then smiled coldy as he stepped to Lyserg, drawing his fist back as he had done when he had Yoh. He leaned close to the boy's ear now, gently brushing the emerald locks aside. "Allow me to send you where your parents are..." he whispered, preparing one hell of a deathblow. "Die" he roared, his fist rocketing towards the shaman. "Celestial Slash" shouted a voice from behind.

Hao let out a yell as he sailed over Lyserg, knew he had been hit from behind, and deeply at that. He skidded to a stop, forcing himself to his hands and knees, wincing some. "You..." he hissed, Yoh standing before Lyserg now, protecting his friend. "If you want to kill Lyserg..." began the shaman, getting into his stance. "You'll have to go through me..." he stated firmly, Hao looking up now, saw Amidimaru behind the bloody and batterted boy, felt the blast of energy, knew that Yoh had managed to tap into some fresh furioku. ...damn him... he thought bitterly. ...damn him to hell...! he cursed, wishing he had somemore furioku to work with, knew his was almost spent. He got to his feet then, preparing himself to strike and blinked, saw the other shamans standing, also around Lyserg.

"You didn't forget about us now did you" asked Trey, smiling sarcastically, Hao narrowing his eyes. ...this sucks... he thought, stepping back slightly. There was no way in hell, he'd be able to take them on now, not like this, half wasted not to mention out of almost all his furioku. He'd be lucky if he managed to get out of here alive...

"Fools..." said Hao in a low voice. "This boy wishes to end your lives, and yet you'll still protect him" he asked, mind-boggled as to why they would do such a thing. The others blinked at bit, letting Hao's words sink in, all exchanging glances with one another, all stoping when they heard Yoh laughing lightly. "Yeah, Lyserg is a bit confused...but he's still my friend..." he said, smiling at Hao, Hao glairing. "He's my friend too...ever if he did try to kill me" announced Trey. "And he's my friend too" shouted a love-struck Ryo, diving to the injured Lyserg's side. The others all then looked to Len, Len blinking rapidly, blushing. "Wh-why are you all looking at me? I'm not going to say he's my friend, cause he's not...and none of you are either, you hear me" he shouted, red as a beet.

Without hesitation, the boys charged, Hao waiting for them to near him, just enough to where he could dodge or grab them. Sure enough, Len was closest, stabbing at him with his long range weapon. Hao kneeled quickly, and rolled just as fast, tripping Trey, and doing the same to Ryo. He then stood, taking two large leaps back, kneeling once more, and turned just in time to catch Yoh's Sword of Light, the cool steel pressed between the palms of his hands. Hao smirked at Yoh, smiled widder when deep red blood began to run down the long blade. "Oh Yoh, you know this isn't how the party ends..." said Hao, continuing to push back on the balde, Yoh doing the opposite, trying despritly to strike his brother.

Hao knew what he was doing, though noted it was insane, like him. However, it was his only chance of getting out of here alive, not to mention, his only chance to get out at all and knew that he needed to move quickly, otherwise, it would all be over for good. With that in mind, he leaned back, falling onto his back, Yoh blinking, felt himself fall onto his brother. He looked down at him wide eyed, Hao smirking, leaning up to Yoh. "I'll see you again soon brother..." he say, sliding his tongue up Yoh's neck and over his now deep red cheek, licking some of the blood from it.

Yoh blinked, went wide eyed again, quickly pulling from his insane twin with an embaressed moan landing on his rear. He whiped at his cheek indignatly, trying to whipe the siliva from it and his neck. "You sick freak" he spat, watched as Hao stood, giving a quick bow, and a taunting wink, before disappearing into the shadows, leaving the group to stare, dumbfounded, and confused, with Hao's words echoing throughout their minds.

(Well, look! Finally got chapter 15 up and running. Lol, i'm so proud of myself only took me what? A week? Better then my last chapter, which took me well over a month almost to upload. lol damn my lazyness xX Anyhoo, i'll be sure to have the conclusion, (yup, you heard right), up within the next week or so. Yes, yes, i know, yet another one of my insane tales comes to an end. "sobs" But never fear! I've already got ideas for new fanfics XD Yup, got plenty more Shaman King ones at that. Aside from that, ill also be working on other fanfictions for animes/games such as Naruto, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Kingdom Hearts! So yeah, the names of the stories will be listed in the next, final chapter, so please please PLEASE read and review them, and make me happy XD So yes, til then please enjoy this chapter and the next-Melis)