Yo-Kai Watch! Christmas in Springdale

Chapter 06: Damona's Icy Heart

Having summoned his Yo-Kai friends to battle the enraged Damona, Nate and friends now stood shocked at Damona's sudden outburst of hating Christmas with all her being as asked by Katie.

"Did I hear her right….or did she just say she "hates" Christmas?" Jibanyan asked. Whisper started to stutter, fumbling the Yo-Kai Pad in his hands before getting a better grip on it.

"B-B-B-B-But this is UNHEARD of! Never, in all my years as a Yo-Kai butler, have I heard of a single, solitary Yo-Kai HATING this time of the year!" he shouted. Damona wickedly chuckled.

"Hate to burst your bubble, you Yo-Kai dud, but its true. I DESPISE this holiday with every fiber of my being!" she sneered. Her eyes narrowed as a crooked smile came to her face.

"Ever since you fools arrived in my throne room and talked about your "wish" to bring Yo-Kai and humans together for this ridiculous holiday, I KNEW I would have to do something to keep your fingers off my hard earned prize." she replied. Kyubi scoffed.

"Hard earned prize"? You sent your Oni goons to STEAL it from me! Just so no one else could use it for this sole reason?! Is that what you're saying?!" he asked.

"Not at first, no. I merely wanted it for my own personal collection. I wanted the Heart to grant MY wish. However, without the "purity" required to use the Yo-Kai Heart, it's merely sat in my chambers as a reminder that not EVERYONE can have what they want." Damona explained. Frostina gasped as Damona started conjuring dark energy in her hands.

"I then decided that if I couldn't have the incredible power stored away in that stupid trinket….NO ONE ELSE WOULD!" she yelled before firing a massive ice beam directly towards the group. But as they prepared to dodge, Frostynyan suddenly leapt in front of them with his mouth wide open.

"F-Frostynyan?!" Frostina yelled. Everyone watched in sheer shock as Frostynyan's gaping mouth sucked in the entirety of Damona's icy blast like a vaccum before shutting his mouth. His cheeks then puffed up from the amount of ice stored in his mouth before feverishly chomping it with his own teeth.

"DUDE! That's TOTALLY gotta be giving you brain freeze!" Nate yelled. As he finished chewing the ice, Frostynyan leaned back before firing small icicle shards back towards Damona as fast as a machine gun. Damona gasped and quickly raised a shield of ice, protecting her from the attack. When Frostynyan ran out of ice, he spit remaining ice shards from his mouth.

"Okay…..what the heck was that?!" Nate speechlessly asked.

"It's one of Frostynyan's attacks. Since he IS a Yo-Kai of the sheer cold, he is able to consume and then use an enemy's ice based attacks back at them by the way you just witnessed." Hovernyan explained "Essentially, ice type attacks WON'T slow him down." Frostynyan then turned back to Nate.

"Yeah….sorry I forgot to tell you that sooner." he replied. But just then, Damona growled and shattered her ice shield before conjuring more dark magic.

"You stupid cat! You and your friends are NEVER getting the Yo-Kai Heart from me! Nay! I'll make you a part of my Yo-Kai ICE SCULPTURE collection instead!" she shouted, firing another massive ice beam. Everyone leapt out of the way as Nate's friends came on the charge. Kyubi and Spoilerina tried to attack side by side but were blown back by Damona expulging a dark aura around herself. Hovernyan came next with his paw enfused with a powerful wind.

"Gutsy Cross Paw!" he called though his attack cut off by Damona's dark magic shielding her. She growled as the cat Yo-Kai pushed hard to break through the shield. However, it was too much and he was thrown back as Blazion, Komasan and Komajiro joined together for a combo attack of fire and electricity.

"Take THIS you big meanie!" Komajiro shouted. Their massive attack came rocketing towards Damona, who retaliated with another ice beam blast, meeting them midway. She growled and, with one extra push, blew the three lower level Yo-Kai back a great distance until they hit the walls.

"Oh man! Damona is WAY too strong!" Nate yelled. Katie shielded herself by hiding behind Nate as Whisper looked on in sheer horror at his Yo-Kai friends fighting Damona from every side.

"Nate, we've got to do something to calm Damona down! At this rate, I fear she'll destroy everyone and everything, including this castle!" Whisper shouted. Nate groaned.

"But how? None of our attacks seem to be even TOUCHING her!" he replied. From behind, Venoct's dragon scarf came to life and began to attack. But Damona saw this and brought up a shield behind her before Venoct's scarf shattered it.

"Now I have you!" Venoct shouted "Octo Snake!" His scarf attacked with a furry of bite attacks, catching Damona off guard before sending her skidding across the ground.

"Now we got her! C'mon Jibanyan!" Frostynyan called. Jibanyan nodded before both cats charged her together, leaping into the air.

"Ice Paw Blizzard!" Frostynyan yelled.

"Paws of Fury!" Jibanyan shouted. The two cats began pelting down on Damona with their combined paw punches, smashing Damona further down into her icy castle floor. But a sudden eruption of dark energy sent the two cats flying backwards as Damona rose from the ground, only to sense Shogunyan attacking next.

"Taste steel you villainous Yo-Kai!" he called. But Damona growled and let out a rage filled roar, blowing Shogunyan back until he tackled into Venoct. Damona's dark enegy continued to rupture the room around her, noticed quickly by Elder Bloom and Dandoodle.

"Her power….it's so un-real, even by Yo-Kai standards." Elder Bloom gasped.

"Indeed. Unless we can somehow calm her, she'll bury us along with the castle!" Dandoodle added. Just then, throughout the chaos taking place before him, Nate looked to the ground and saw Tattletell making her way towards Damona.

"Tattletell? What is she…? Oh wait. I get it! She's trying to expose Damona's reasonings!" he thought. Braving the storm ahead of her, Tattletell lunged onto Damona's chin before attaching herself and her power overtook her.

"Way to go Tattletell!" Nate shouted. Damona's dark power started to fade as her dark aura shrunk down to just a fiery barrier.

"Damona….tell us. Why? Why do you hate Christmas? What wish were you trying to have granted by the Yo-Kai Heart?" Nate asked, sounding sincere in his voice. Everyone remained motionless, waiting for her to answer before, suddenly, a single tear slipped down Damona's face and splattered on the ground.

"A-A tear?!" Hovernyan gasped. Upon closer inspection, everyone could see it. Big wells of tears were forming in Damona's eyes despite her attempts to stop them from flowing.

"H-How would you feel? W-What would you do….if you were the ONLY Yo-Kai to be excluded from the joys? The merriment that came with Christmas?" she asked "What if YOU were the only one Santa NEVER came to see?!" Nate and Katie gasped as Damona continued to cry, dripping tears on Tattletell's face.

"Wait. I…I don't get it. Damona is supposed to be emotionless because she traded them away for power. So….how can she…?" Kyubi asked before Spoilerina's hand on his arm silenced him. Damona continued to cry as they looked on.

"Ever since I was born, everyone feared to be around me….simply because I was the daughter of the Oni King. That included the joy that should come with Christmas. Not once….since the day I came into this rotten world….has the supposed "jolly man", Santa Claus, ever graced the Netherworld. So….while other Yo-Kai were either given gifts by this "Saint Nick" or given the wonderful chance to be Santa's aides from Old Saint Trick…..I was all alone." she said. Katie's expression softened as Nate remained fixated.

"Damona…." she muttered. The Yo-Kai continued sniffling, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"The reason I took that stupid Heart….the reason you're all here…..is because I wanted it to grant my wish to have SOMEONE, just ONE PERSON, to have as a "friend"." she said "B-But, by the time I had obtained the Heart, my dark powers prevented me from using it….simply because my heart was not "pure" enough." Having heard enough, Nate slowly started to approach Damona.

"By the time I had gotten that worthless trinket, I realized I couldn't use it. It….It was all for naught." she sniffled "Who am I kidding? Someone with a heart like mine….doesn't deserve a friend." Suddenly, Damona looked up and saw Nate looking down at her before he kneeled down to her level. Seeing her enemy up close, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. But as she looked back towards Nate, she was suddenly enveloped by his arms, hugging her small body tightly.

"W-What are you…?" she whispered. Nate's arms tightened around her as a smile came to his face.

"I see. So THAT's why. All you really wanted….was someone to spend Christmas with. Am I right?" he asked "And here I thought…..you were some kind of terrible Yo-Kai who hated everyone around them." Damona struggled to break free, shifting back and forth.

"Nate…." Whisper muttered. Jibanyan tried to approach Nate, but Hovernyan stopped him and lightly shook his head.

"If that's all you wanted, Damona, you only had to ask. I may just be a simple human….but I believe everyone….deserves a friend. Why else do you think I have so many Yo-Kai friends?" he asked. Damona groaned, her hands eventually clutching the back of Nate's jacket.

"Don't think you can just "butter me up" like…..like this." Damona replied. Nate shook his head.

"No. I'm not trying anything. I'm serious." he replied, making Damona gasp. Katie looked on from the distance alongside Komasan and Komajiro as their hug continued. However, as Nate continued talking to Damona, everyone could see the dark magic beginning to brew in Damona's hands, aiming to pierce Nate from behind.

"N-Nate!" Katie cried.

"Look out! She's gonna attack!" Jibanyan shouted. Damona's eyes were tightly closed, holding back her tears, as Nate's hug didn't let up.

"Listen to me Damona…..I'm a guy who would like to be your friend, for real. Throughout all the crazy stuff I've had to go through with all the Yo-Kai I've met throughout my life, I understood that all they really want….the reasons why they act up, is because they want someone to understand them. And….I'd like to get to know you….the REAL you." Nate explained. Damona groaned, her dark magic still on the course to stab Nate.

"It might be a little late…..but….we're having a big Christmas party at my school in the human world. If you'd like, I'd appreciate it if you could attend. I'm sure….if you try reaching out to others, you'll get your wish….even without the Yo-Kai Heart's help." he said. Damona remained motionless as her hands simply hovered over Nate with the others looking on in worry. But just then, the dark magic surrounding her began to fade away and flowing out in its place was a flood of tears from her eyes. She cried loudly as she clutched tightly onto Nate's jacket.

"D-Do you really mean all that?" she asked, stifling her tears so she could see him face to face. Nate nodded.

"Of course. After all, I'm sure Frostina's wish for humans and Yo-Kai to share a Christmas together…..also includes a Yo-Kai like you." he said. Damona sniffled, looking on at Nate before she pressed up against his chest, burying her tears in his jacket. From afar, Whisper and Jibanyan were shedding small tears of their own.

"Nya-te…." Jibanyan muttered.

"I am PROUD…..to be the Yo-Kai butler….of such a caring human like yourself." Whisper continued. As Damona continued to cry, Frostina approached Frostynyan's side before setting her hand on his shoulder. They looked to each other before each shedding a small smile.

TO BE CONTINUED…