A/N: We are only a few chapters away from the ending of the book, and let me give away a small detail.. It will be sort of… sad. I think you may begin to guess why by the end of the fan fiction. Only four more chapters, including this one! Hee hee hee. And I've already started writing book number four. It will be a little shorter then the other ones but hey. Be enough about that. Let's get on to the fan fiction, shall we? To the story!

Disclaimer- I do not own Shaman King. It belongs to it's creator Hiroyuki Takei and the people who did the manga and anime. Also, Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me. It belongs to who created it, and does not belong to me. I only own the plot line of the story, if I even own that considering this is all for fun. Don't sue me!

Chapter seventeen: Rest for the wary

"Marluxia is gone, milord."

The blue walls shimmered and pulsed with the leaders anger. He rose a pale and into the air and slapped the servant away. Horo saw that and his eyes contained an unusual amount of malice today. Could he have figured out what Marluxia had done to his ship?

"I know that Dolhar. You do not need to remind me of the lost. Now we are down to one strong warrior."

The servant, Dolhar was his name, shrank back from the lord rubbing his cheek pensively. His attention then shifted to Horo and he walked over to him. Horo had always been kinder to servants then his lord was, so Dolhar felt better around him.

Milord is in a foul mood, isn't he," he asked and Horo nodded.

"Having only one more expendable warrior in his command must really annoy him."

Dolhar nodded his head, soft gray hair falling into his face. "I miss Ssussun."

Horo down cased eyes turned sad. "We all miss the great Jabbak. But don't worry, the time of vengeance is coming."

"You couldn't mean-"

"Yes, I mean that. Make sure to warn the others about it so they can be prepared to chose a master from among their own. After the defeat of Sàix, the time will be right."

Dolhar's gray eyes glittered. "Yes, my lord."

Horo smiled slightly. Soon the time would indeed be right. They would be able to take back the world. No more listening to Sol-zehn the horrible. He stole a quick glance at Sàix and smirked. Soon, the time would be right.

He couldn't wait.

----

Pirika was about to strike the weak point of the golem when it vanished, and she fell forward on her face. Seemed like Pyro and Ren had defeated Marluxia before they even had a chance to destroy the golem. Pirika sat on her butt and rubbed her face. She had almost got it, again. She couldn't believe them. There was a soft tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Pyro there. He offered his hand to her and she took it, only to pull him down too.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"You defeated Marluxia before I even had a chance to defeat the golem," she said, almost pouting. He gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know. I was sure you guys had destroyed him already."

"If we had we would have came up there to help you."

He ran a hand through his hair and was about to say something when Ren interrupted him. "Come on. Let's get inside and rest for a while."

Pyro nodded and helped Pirika up They followed the rest of the gang into one of the tall buildings and looked around. This one seemed to be some short of apartment building. They smiled at each other and then scattered to claim their rooms. The only one who didn't go running was Ren, who smiled dimly at their reactions. He touched his head and sighed.

'I feel drained. Vith. (1) All this distancing myself from Pirika must have something to do with it. I just wish I could hold her, and kiss her but I can't. I have to protect her."

He turned around and laid a hand on his head. Suddenly though Kororo, Horohoro's little ice spirit landed on his shoulder. He smiled at her and rubbed her head with a clawed hand. She seemed to enjoy it, which made Ren's smile a little brighter.

"You must miss Horo, don't you," he asked and she nodded her head. "Don't worry, you'll see him again soon. For now you'll just have to wait."

He sat down in a steel chair and put his head back against the wall. Finally, a little rest for the wary. All the traveling they had done… he was a little tired from it all. He shut his eyes and let sleep take him.

Pirika walked back into the room and saw Ren sleeping and she couldn't help but smile. He looked tired, completely and totally. She inched her way closer to him and then watched him sleep. Despite how he had been pushing her away, she still felt the same way about him as she did at the beginning of this crazy adventure. She carefully moved her hand out and touched his hair. He shifted slightly, but didn't wake up. With a bright smile, she kissed his nose.

"I still love you, Ren Tao."

She quickly exited the room after doing that, not wanting to disturb his sleep any longer.

----

"C'rintri?"

Horo had been staring out a window in the palace building when Sàix's voice caught his attention. He turned to the blue haired man and tilted his head. "What?"

"I just wanted to talk."

He walked forward until he was beside him on the window. His gold eyes looked out into the fields outside the walls. He smiled grimly and then turned back to him.

"What do you want to talk about Sàix?"

"The Jabbak is worried. I'm his last warrior, and he is pretty sure I will die."

"It's a good sign that he is aware of the price of victory."

"Yes, I suppose your right." Sàix turned fully to face him and Horo cringed as he saw the 'X' shaped scar on his face again. "The only thing is, what is he to do when I fall?"

"Deal with the matter himself," Horo said with a shrug. "I don't know for sure."

"He seems like he would want to handle them himself. Just tell me something, to put my mind at ease."

"Hm?"

"Do you hate your father? Do you hate him so much that you would betray him?"

"No, why would I betray my own-"

"I just wanted to know. Thank you." He patted his shoulder and there was a sharp pain his shoulder before he removed his hand and left. Horo rubbed his shoulder and watched him go.

"Oh my, what was that about?"

----

"Things are getting really bad," Yoh muttered as he removed his jacket. They, Anna and Yoh, sat in the room they had chosen, talking. They were tried and wary, tired of all this fighting. All this traveling. But they had to do it.

"It always bad," Anna muttered, "but we have to carry on. If not for us, then also for the others."

"I know, I know. I just can't wait for this battle to be over."

"Everything will be alright."

She wrapped her arms around his arm and leaned against him. He laid his head against her head and smiled. "Your always so calm, always looking forward. I wish I was more like that."

She smiled. "Your you, and I wouldn't want it be any other way."

"That makes me feel better about myself."

"I bet it does."

He kiss her ear and she laughed, pushing him away. He gave her a lazy smile and she shook her head.

"Your so immature."

"And your not?"

She smiled, leaned forward and kissed him.

End chapter

A/N: That was a crazy chapter. Well, next chapter, things reach the point where they are so close to the finally battle they can almost taste it. Warning though, there is a major character death coming. Who it is out of the main characters, I'm not telling you. You'll have to guess. Well, till next time! R&R please!