As Anna struggled with her emotions, the boys and Silva ran off to the Village as fast as they could so as to get there before Hao did. HoroHoro looked back at them sadly. "I don't get it. If they want Yoh back then why are they chasing us?"
"Opacho wants this all to be over. Opacho is scared…" Opacho whimpered gently. Hao was sitting down on his spirit, and he held Opacho gently, swaying her back and forth. "Don't worry," he said. "This will all be done soon. Then we can…" he trailed off, not sure what to say next. Then we can what? Start over? But where, what, how, could we do that? And what about the Great Spirits? What will happen after I take them and separate from Yoh?
HoroHoro could see Hao was troubled. He walked up to his new friend and sat down too, the wind blowing his hair refreshingly. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. Hao shook his head.
"I couldn't begin to explain."
"Okay. That's fine. But we'll get there long before they do, won't we?"
"Yeah, we should."
"Okay that's cool. Hey I think Opacho is falling asleep dude!"
"Oh, you're right."
And sure enough, Opacho was fighting to keep her eyes open. She let out a large yawn, and the two boys laughed.
"That's so cute…" HoroHoro cooed.
"Yeah. Sweet, innocent little Opacho."
"Opacho … is not … falling asleep, Hao-sama … Horo-kun…"
Hao and HoroHoro watched Opacho as she fell asleep, and soon they were lying down themselves, nearly falling asleep, but talking between themselves about everything that had happened in the past few days.
"What did you say to Ren that made him feel so vulnerable?" HoroHoro asked.
"I didn't mean to make him feel that way. I just told him he had changed and he was a good person, that he killed a lot of people and now he didn't."
"Oh that's it?"
"Yeah…"
"Okay."
"Hey how did you find Yoh?"
"Actually, he found me dude. I was starving on a street corner and he helped me out big time. I owe him a lot."
"That's so cool. You guys all seem like good friends. I feel bad about what I did…"
"Don't worry about it." HoroHoro said. "Not at all."
Hao smiled.
"Do you think…?" he muttered opening his eyes and looking up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set and it shone red and orange light onto the clouds.
"Yeah?" asked HoroHoro waiting for Hao to finish his sentence.
"That Yoh would…" he paused again. HoroHoro sat up and looked at him.
"Would what?"
"Forgive me?" Hao stared at the sky, his eyes focused on the colours. He was concentrating very hard on not spilling any more tears.
"What sort of a question is that? Of course he would!" laughed HoroHoro. Hao still stared at the sky like he was disappearing from the earth and drifting between the beautiful scenery above him. But no matter how hard he tried; he couldn't remove the new voice that was beginning to taunt him…
Don't do this! I know you've probably absorbed his soul again! Please! Yoh, if there's anything left of you, help me! Please!
Hao shook his head, it was easy to hide from that thought, since well, Manta wasn't inside of him. But he was inside his conscience.
"Yoh must have known I did that…" he said solemnly. "How would he forgive me?" HoroHoro turned his head on one side.
"What are you talking about?"
"I…" Hao closed his mouth not finishing. A loud noise from the spirit of fire suddenly appeared, HoroHoro was startled a bit and Hao sat up.
"What the hell was that!" cried HoroHoro earning a small tap on the head from Hao. Hao pointed to the sleeping Opacho to indicate to keep your voice down. "Oh sorry. I forgot."
"He is trying to tell us something." Said Hao patting the spirit of fire with his left hand. The spirit of fire made a noise again Hao looked into the distance, only to see the Path Village disappear right before his eyes!
"Crap!" yelled Hao Opacho stirring.
"Hao-Sama what's wrong?" whispered Opacho.
"HoroHoro look!" cried Hao pointing to the distance. HoroHoro turned and looked.
"Erm…there's nothing there."
"Exactly! The village just disappeared!"
"What? How! How could it do that?"
"It's the stupid great spirits!" shouted Hao angrily standing up. "It saw me coming and now it's running from me!"
"Hey Hao calm down. It can't hide forever!" said HoroHoro standing up and patting him on the shoulder. Hao sighed loudly and angrily.
"Now what am I supposed to do?" he shouted. He trembled on his bad foot and HoroHoro held onto him.
"You don't get angry a lot do you?" whimpered HoroHoro.
"No I don't! I'm usually calm but how am I supposed to be calm when I can't get my twin back!" he yelled. But then he blinked and looked at HoroHoro's worried face. "Why what's the matter with you?"
"The Spirit of Fire is vanishing!" he shrieked. Hao looked shocked and looked down at his spirit's head, and slowly each part of it was fading. Opacho sat up and started crying.
"Hao-Sama is losing Oversoul again!" she cried.
"Hao! Dude! Why? What's wrong!" yelled HoroHoro taking Hao by the shoulders and shaking him gently. Hao blinked and then completely blacked out, the spirit of fire quickly vanished under their feet and all three of them began to fall to the ground. Opacho was screaming and she managed to grab hold of HoroHoro. HoroHoro held her to him and he looked over to Hao, then down at the earth. They we're hundreds of feet in the air. If they hit the ground they'd die! "Hao!" called HoroHoro. "Hao!" he called again, he was only a few feet away from him, he remained unconscious.
Meanwhile a few miles behind, the rest of the gang including Silva we're running towards them. Even though they noticed the village had gone too, they carried on running.
"What the hell!" cried out Chocolove pointing to the skies in front of them. "Look! Look!" Each of them looked up the clouds, to see all three of them falling.
"HoroHoro!" called Ren running faster.
"HoroHoro!" shouted Lyserg speeding up too.
"Who cares what happens to him! If they die that's great Hao's gone!" sneered Anna. "He deserves to die after what he's done to my Yoh!"
"HoroHoro!" shouted Ren again completely ignoring Anna. "I don't know about you but I know two things that will and would happen in Yoh as still alive!" replied Ren. "If Yoh was here he wouldn't just save HoroHoro he'd save all three of them and he would refuse to allow any harm come to HoroHoro no matter what he has done! So don't tell me what is good and what is not Anna! For I want to do the right thing! Do what Yoh would do!" Anna stopped running and gasped. He was right. Yoh would save them. "HoroHoro!" cried Ren again.
HoroHoro looked behind him to seem them all continuing to run. He couldn't hear their cries but could tell they could see him.
"Hao!" called HoroHoro again. Hao didn't move.
"Horo-kun! Are we going to die?" whimpered Opacho.
"No I won't allow it!" replied HoroHoro determinedly. "Hao!" he called again. "Hang on Dudette." He smiled at her. HoroHoro reached into his pocket and pulled out his medium. "Oversoul! Kororo in Ikupasui!" he yelled as loud as he could holding his Ikupasui above his head. A great shining blue light shone around him, too bright to look at. His friends stopped in their tracks to look at this appearance, Anna caught up to them and stopped stood with them.
"What is he doing?" called Chocolove.
"He is using Big Oversoul to save himself!" smiled Lyserg.
"Thank God! He's not a stupid as he looks!" called Ren sighing with relief. And sure enough, Kororo's huge ice maiden figure had appeared, saving all three of them from falling to their deaths. HoroHoro was now stood on Kororo's shoulder, Hao on the other, still out cold.
"Hang on man!" shouted HoroHoro. "I'll get you to safety!" Kororo descended and traveled a few more miles before landing. Giving them enough time before the rest of them had caught up.
"Hao-sama, wake up!" Opacho cried, trying to shake him awake. "Please wake up!"
"Opacho," HoroHoro said, "Don't do that. He'll wake up and he'll be fine."
"But Opacho wants him to be fine now!" she replied desperately. "Opacho wants him to be okay."
"He will be!" HoroHoro said. "Don't give up on that hope!"
"Horo-kun… Opacho sad."
"Don't be."
"Why are you sad Opacho?"
"She's sad because you passed out, dude…"
"Who did?"
"You did, Hao!"
"Oh, I did?"
"Yeah! And Opacho is sad because you won't wake up."
"HoroHoro, I hate to tell you, but…"
"Hao-sama! You are awake! Opacho so happy!" She ran up and hugged Hao's leg tightly. Hao smiled down at her. "Of course I am! You didn't think that would stop me, did you?"
"No!" Opacho said, shaking her head violently. HoroHoro blinked, confused. "Hao! When did you wake up!"
"Wow you're awful slow aren't you?"
"Hey! I am not!"
Hao laughed. "Its okay. I'm good now. But my leg still hurts like hell…"
"Then sit down," HoroHoro said. "That should help a little."
Hao sat down, smiling. "Hey, I just thought of something. How do we get to Patch Village when it's disappeared?"
"Oh. Erm … We … I don't know!"
"Okay, no matter."
Silva turned to Ren. "What happened to HoroHoro? I thought he was against Hao."
"He was, until we went ice skating."
"You guys went ice skating with Hao?"
"No, with Yoh. Or at least, we thought it was Yoh. Hao was using his brother's body."
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah HoroHoro had a blast and they're friends now."
"Oh, I see." Silva repeated distastefully.
"Yes. HoroHoro is a traitor."
"Ren take it easy on the guy! He didn't do anything that wrong – "
"Chocolove. He's helping the one who killed Yoh and will destroy all of humanity. You don't think that's wrong?"
"Not from Yoh's point of view." Chocolove said, running ahead of them.
Ren stopped. "Why … Why is everyone making everything so hard for me…"
Suddenly, Lyserg's oracle bell began to beep. He stopped running and everyone gathered around him, having a break from the running as well. Lyserg looks closely at the screen and spotted a small envelope symbol.
"Hey? I've got a message?" grinned Lyserg touching the envelope with his finger.
"I didn't know it could do that." Mentioned Ryu.
"Neither did I." Said Lyserg. On the screen appeared a larger box. Lyserg read it aloud, "You have received a message from I.M.J. Push Read to read the message." Lyserg stopped and thought about it. "I.M.J" he repeated.
"Iron maiden Jeanne?" asked Anna.
"Oh of course!" laughed Lyserg happily pushing the read button. A new box appeared and they all read it to themselves.
Dearest Lyserg,
I do not know where you are standing right now, whether it be Japan, England or America, I still think this message should reach you. You recently had a visit from your small friend Manta. He is perfectly fine there is no more need to worry for his safety. Manta has a lot to tell you, I believe it is not my place to tell you these things. Manta will remain with me until further notification. He is in good hands. Please arrange some sort of transportation to come to North America. Manta is eager to be reunited with you and his friends.
Peace.
-Jeanne
"That is such a relief that he is okay!" sighed Ren smiling, but everyone seemed to not even realize he said anything.
"That is so great that he is alright!" smiled Anna.
"That's what I just said-"
"Hey I really didn't know you could send messages on this thing!" interrupted Lyserg messing with his oracle attempting to reply to her.
"Hmmm…" pondered Hao, completely calm again. He was sat down tapping his chin with he knuckles. "Hmmm…" he said again.
"Hmmm what?"
"Hmmm…" said Hao again. "I'm hungry." HoroHoro jolted back shocked with a stupid look on his face.
"You can totally tell that Yoh is a part of you now you know!"
"Hmmm…" said Hao again closing his eyes. "The best conclusion I can possibly come up with, is we approach the area the village was once in, and then check to make sure it is definitely isn't there!"
"Okay let's go!"
Lyserg turned to Silva. "How do you send messages with this?" he asked. Silva bent down and punched in a few numbers. "There. Now just write your message."
"Okay." He began to write:
To Jeanne,
We are in America right now trying to stop Hao from entering the Patch Village. We are all glad that Manta is okay, and we'd all like to see you very soon. Thanks, Jeanne!
-Lyserg
He pressed "send" and they continued on their way, running as fast as possible. "What if he's telling the truth?" Chocolove inquired.
"He's not. People like that don't change!" Ren yelled.
"You did."
"Shut up!" Ren ran past all of them, hoping that with that he'd forget all about the painful things they had said.
"Poor Ren," Lyserg said. "I think he's hurt most of all."
"No, I am!" Anna spat, "It's my fiancée that was killed after all!"
"Anna, this isn't the time," Silva soothed. "We'll never get there in time though. Hold on!" He did Oversoul with Silverwing and jumped into the air. He grabbed hold of everyone. As they flew they began to close the gap between them, HoroHoro and Hao.
"Awesome! You couldn't get a ride like this back home!" Ryu yelled. Anna slapped him. "Hush up! You're giving me a headache."
"Sorry, Anna."
"Would you two both shut up!" Ren snapped. "I'd quite like to get there in one piece."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna yelled. Silva nudged them with his foot. "Calm down everyone, we're almost there."
They continued to bicker and fight, until Silva shut them all up. "Guys. When we get there I think there's an old friend you'd like to see. He's been helping us out at the Patch Village, he's quite skilled."
"Who is it? Chocolove asked right away.
"It's a surprise," Silva answered. "Look, I think I see someone now. Down there."
And sure enough, a woman with long blonde hair clothed in pink waved up at them.
"It's Eliza!" Chocolove cried. "Is Faust here too?"
"Yes, of course he is. You can't have one without the other."
"All right!"
"That's awesome!"
HoroHoro looked behind him. "Hao, look, they're catching up."
"What?" Hao looked behind them too. "Oh, Silva used his Oversoul. That's okay, there's still enough time."
"Kororo! Speed up a little bit, okay?"
Kororo flew along faster. Silva noticed right away. "They're going faster than us."
Anna was quick to jump at the chance to yell. "Then speed up for goodness sake!"
"Hey I can't go any faster!"
"Oh, we will never catch up now!" Lyserg cried. "It's no use!"
"Lyserg try not be so down." Ryu said.
"Yeah!" Chocolove yelled. "You'll hit the ground before any of us even land!"
Lyserg laughed. "Sorry."
"Hey no worries!"
"Anyway, we've only got a few minutes left before we reach the village. Lyserg, where are we supposed to meet Jeanne?"
"Oops…"
"Lyserg! You forgot to tell her to meet her at the Patch?"
"Well, sort of …"
"You incompetent brat!" Anna yelled.
"Hey you should have asked me to!" He retorted. Just then he got a new message. "Great," Anna said. "Another message."
"Let's see what it says."
Lyserg opened the message and read it out loud.
Dear Lyserg,
I will meet you just before you reach the Path of the Stars. I will bring Manta with me. I hope to see you all there very soon! Don't let Hao get the best of you!
Peace,
Jeanne
"Well luckily she didn't forget to say where we'd meet her," Anna said.
"Anna, please be quiet. We're all very tried right now."
"Hmph."
"We're there, Hao!" HoroHoro said. Hao smiled. "Okay. Let's get going."