"Yes, yes, it's me." Ren looked over at Hao. "I figured you'd find yourself in danger and I'd have to save your skin."

Hao was taken aback. "Did you just call me weak…?!" Was all he could manage to say. Ren shook his head.

"No, you are probably the most powerful shaman on earth. Next to me, of course." He added. Hao sighed. It was definitely Ren…! "I knew for a fact you'd get into some trouble and you wouldn't be able to handle it on your own. HoroHoro isn't much help." Hao couldn't help but snicker at that. He turned to face his now unconscious friend. Ren was probably right. Especially now… HoroHoro could not help him.
"Enough of this conversing! Hao, we have no time for your games." spat Goldva.

"Yeah, you're right. You have no time for my games." He said calmly. "So I think I'll just leave you to it then." Ren and Hao nodded at each other, and in quick sucession, Ren threw an attack towards the shaman councils who had their hold on Yoh and HoroHoro. As they were briefly distracted, Hao leapt towards them – picking Yoh up and throwing him across his shoulder and grasping HoroHoro's wrist as he did so. He threw HoroHoro towards Ren – who grabbed him in quick sucession, and at the same time they both began to bolt away from the open clearing carrying their lifeless friends with them.

"So, why did you come after me?" Hao asked as they ran into the woods.
"I wanted to know why you left and why you took Yoh with you."

"Well… Actually HoroHoro told me the Patch were looking for me, so we fled as soon as we could."

"So why did you take Yoh?"

"He's my brother. I couldn't leave him behind… but I suppose I don't know the exact reason..."

"Do you really think you can get away from us that easily?" shouted a voice. Hao and Ren looked back over their shoulders, only to see Silva, Karim, Goldva and fewer others of the tribe following them air born. Karim and Goldva were hanging onto Silva's wrists as he flew with his silver wings while three others followed on their Oversouls. Hao and Ren stopped running and turned to face them, they could not escape.

"Forget it Silva! You don't have Yoh or HoroHoro so don't bother! You can't force me to you!" shouted Hao, clutching Yoh tighter, not bearing to let them take him again. The six men landed to the ground and stood firmly with their weapons and Oversouls shining brightly. However their furyoku seemed slightly weak. Hao noticed this, although Ren did not.

"We said we would defeat you at all costs." said Karim, firmly.

"Why aren't you showing us your spirit Hao?" shouted Goldva. "Why are you running away? You can easily kill us all! Why run away?"

"Hao, what does he mean?" whispered Ren. Ren noticed a different look in Hao's eyes. He looked stern, not smiling yet not frowning. "Hao…?"

"Fight us Hao! Stop running away!" shouted Goldva.

"Goldva, I thought you said we weren't going to tell them the real reason we are here." Hissed Silva.

"I know that Silva, but that was before our plan failed. We must turn the tables on him; we can use Ren against him. He has other weaknesses too." Replied Goldva, only quietly enough for Silva to hear. Silva nodded.

"I agree." He muttered. "I understand." As this was going on, Ren began to think for a while.

I haven't seen him use his Oversoul ever since he came back. I've never seen one single blaze. Not one. The Spirit of Fire has never been around. Why? Why could this be?

Hao now glared at Ren.

"Did…did you hear that?" stuttered Ren. Hao didn't reply, as his eyes diverted back to the Patch Tribe.

"Fight us Hao!"

"No…" muttered Hao.

"What was that?" called Goldva.

"I will not fight you!" shouted Hao.

"Why not?!" shouted Silva.

"Because…" whispered Hao, closing his eyes, beginning to get angry. "Because…"

"Why won't you fight us? Why?"

"Because of this!" screamed Hao. He wrenched forward as he cried out and huge sudden rush of power rushed around them all and thrust into the sky. Behind Ren and Hao formed the humongous Oversoul of the Spirit of Fire. Ren gazed at it, not able to find the words.

"It's…It's…" he stammered.

It was gold.

"Do not jump to conclusions about this. Stay with me Ren. It is not what it looks like." Explained Hao. Ren didn't hear him. That huge thing wasn't the Spirit of Fire.

"The…Great…Spirits…" he whispered.

"Ren. Look at me." Ren ignored him. "I said look at me!" shouted Hao.

"You…liar…" Ren's eyes narrowed to him. "All this time, you led us to believe… me to believe that you had changed… you lied to us…"

"No." Hao was glaring at him, trying to make him listen. He didn't show any sadness in his eyes or voice, he knew this is what the Patch wanted. "I can explain. But right now, I will get rid of the Patch. And then we –"

"Liar!" screamed Ren. "All this time! All this time! You had the Great Spirits? You actually stole the Great Spirits? All that crap about Yoh wanting to be one, it was a lie! Wasn't it? Wasn't it? You bastard!" Ren dropped HoroHoro carefully to the ground, grabbed his Kwan Dao and smacked it into shape and launched him self at Hao. Hao dodged quickly, trying not to let go of his twin. He didn't want to let him go with the risk of the Patch taking him again. Hao glared at the Patch, Goldva's plan had worked. Making Ren angry would be the perfect way for them to get what they want. They wanted Hao to be punished, and they knew he would not hurt his friend, Tao Ren.

One other thing Hao couldn't fully explain was how the Great Spirits had remained with him all this time. When Hao had become one with Yoh again, his power had increased and he had known this for a long time. He knew that the reason his Oversoul kept breaking before he took the Great Spirits was because his power was too great when bound with the other half of his soul, and he needed a larger Oversoul to control his power. Which was why when Hao and Yoh separated after the Great Spirits had become one with the Spirit of Fire, it went crazy and out of control. Hao was too weak to control it on his own, with out Yoh. Now Yoh was part of him, they had hold of the Great Spirits and could control it easily. The Great Spirits must have known this would happen, and told the Patch Tribe what was going to happen after Hao had taken them the very first time. That explained why the Great Spirit's gave him a different test, to see what his weaknesses were.

The Great Spirits were one step ahead.

"Ren! You have to calm down! I can explain what is happening!" desperately explained Hao. Ren slashed and slashed at Hao, anger in his every move.

"You've ruined everything! You took my friend away, and you even led me to believe you were my friend too! I hate you for it Hao! HoroHoro will find out about this, how you used him to get what you want! You were just going to use us all weren't you? You were going to lead us into a trap weren't you? How could I be so blind as to think you had changed? You've got everything you wanted, you know what? I bet with the Great Spirits on your side, you even consider yourself to be the Shaman King!" yelled Ren, anger and despair in his every word.

"Don't you see Ren? This is what the Patch wants! They want you to believe all this; they tricked me into showing my Oversoul because they knew this is what you would do! Don't fall for it Ren! All they want is to see me die!" shouted Hao.

"I want to see you die! I want to do it!" screamed Ren. He swung for Hao again, but he dodged it once more.

"Ren please just listen to me. Trust me!"

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because you came all this way out here, just to find me. You came to help me. Because, Ren, I'm you're friend." Ren stopped attacking and looked at Hao's face for a slight second. He saw what seemed to be the look Yoh would give him, a carefree look in his eyes. His expression overall didn't show happiness, it sowed certainty. Ren really was his friend…

Was Hao really his?

"Get a move on!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"What's the point of this? If Ren's gone to help him – "

Anna ignored Lyserg and sped up even further. It wasn't about Hao, or even Ren. She knew something was wrong…

She could feel it.

"Anna?" Chocolove asked. "Hello? You there?"

"Huh?" she panted. "L-leave me alone!"

"Anna," Lyserg began. "It's not like you to space out… isn't that more like…"

Don't say it…!

"…Yoh?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. "I… I'm not…!"

"Don't say you're not spacing out, Anna. You are…"

"Shut up!"

"What's bugging you? Come on, tell us!" Chocolove prompted. Anna shook her head. "It's nothing!"

Lyserg raised his eyebrows, but kept running. Soon Anna decided to get a move on too and catch up.

"This is taking too long!" Goldva announced. Silva nodded. "Now!"

HoroHoro suddenly stood up shakily. He took out his snowboard and it began to glow with furyoku. Hao looked to the ground.

"Why…?" Quickly though, he shifted his head to face the sky. He looked sad and as if he was fighting something. How could the Patch pull a trick like this? It was so low…

Plus, he didn't have time to deal with all this. What about Yoh?

"Hao…!"

Great. Now were they using Anna against him…? How ironic was that?!

"Hao…" Anna looked as angry as if she were going to kill him. "What do you think you're doing?!" Then she turned around and noticed the Patch and HoroHoro. "What the…?"

"Anna, no time to explain…!" Hao tried to say, but he was too late. She had seen the Golden Spirit of Fire. "What… on Earth?!"

"Anna – "

"You filthy liar!" She spat. Hao hit his forehead.

"Not you, too!"

"Give Yoh to me!" Anna demanded. Hao hurriedly approached her and placed Yoh gently on the ground. Anna walked over to him and knelt down sadly. "Why…"

"Anna, look at me…"

"Why should I trust you?! You took him away! He's… he's… he's the only person who ever really looked out for me! And you took him away!"

"I'm not gone, Anna! I'm right here!"

Hao closed his eyes. So now Yoh wanted to speak?

"Don't cry Anna… I'm here! I'm right here!"

"Anna, get up. You have to listen to me."

"Why…" She stood up. "Why should I?" She repeated. Suddenly, she gasped. Hao's eyes were wide with worry and sadness… yet they looked exactly like Yoh's. Not the deep, emotionless eyes Hao once had… but her fiancé's warm and caring eyes. She suddenly got lost. "…Okay."

"What?"

"I'll hear you out. I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I'll listen. Tell me everything that happened." Anna whispered, nearly in tears. "I will, don't worry. First, though, tell me why you came after me."

Anna didn't know what it was. It could have been the chills of the night, her shock, or maybe it was just Hao's eyes… No, Yoh's eyes. Whatever it was, she broke down and told him. "It's… it's because… when Yoh died… part of him never really left. He's still here, hiding from me – in my heart, in my mind… I have him with me always, no matter where I am. I love him, and that's why he'll never really be gone."

From that moment, that exact moment, Hao knew exactly what he needed to do.