This chapter will end the arc with Yokai. I would like to thank Albert astein the21st. genius for helping me write this chapter and get this far in the story. The next chapter will be a fun chapter but until then please enjoy this action chapter.
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"Heaven's Judgement."
Yokai turned pale, not expecting his uncle to use such a move. Usage of the mythical element was forbidden except in the most dire of circumstances, and Brad wanted to use it on him. But . . .
Yokai's face turned grim as the moon disappeared behind thunderheads of the darkest black. Wind sprang from nowhere, bringing with it the scent of decay as a mysterious red glow began to emanate from Brad's staff. The black sky howled.
From the new shadows surrounding them, hounds of smoke with forked tails emerged. These dogs shook themselves and stretched, rattling their fur and creaking their bones. The smoke that created them was blue, but they appeared to be a deep purple in the red light of Brad's staff.
These were the Ether-hounds. And they were going to tear him apart.
XXX
Christooher frowned at the sky. Since when was it so dark? He tied the boat up at the small tower docks, jumped off the ship, and went looking for Fletcher. Oh, and that Yokai guy too. In other words, Christopher was looking for trouble.
XXX
Fletcher didn't know why the moon was gone, or why the air smelled, or why everything was glowing red. But he did know that Tor wasn't as dead as previously thought. He had proof too. The bull man was chasing him towards the source of the red light.
XXX
Yokai leaped backwards, losing his sleeve to an Ether-hound as a second lurched towards him. He was surrounded, three more Ether-hounds snapping and snarling as they circled him. Some distance away, Brad was trying to convince the Alpha hound that it didn't want to eat him.
Yokai ducked and rolled. He lashed out with his staff. He didn't want to die! A hound jumped, jaws aiming for his throat. He was going to-
"Aaaaah!"
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Fletcher was getting frustrated. Why couldn't the stupid zombie-bull (at least, he thought it was a zombie) leave him alone. He wasn't in the mood to fight. He was hungry! Wait, were zombies edible?
"Aaaaah!" He yelled, leading the maddened Tor right in the path of a Ether-hound.
XXX
Yokai stared dumbly as a hulking mass got between him and the hound, saving his life.
Brad glared at the Alpha. "You will obey me." It growled in reply.
XXX
"Wind Whip!" Fletcher sent another hound flying. Stupid smoke-dog. All this fighting was making him even more hungry.
At his back, Yokai stood, formulating his next attack. Yokai knew of away to hold off the Ether-hounds, if only temporarily. He flinched as his robe was ripped by sharp claws.
"Ancient Art of the Elementals:" He dodged more claws, moving closer to Fletcher. "Hi Koori!"
XXX
Christopher couldn't believe his eyes. Misty, rattly dogs were atacking his cross-looking captain in droves, while clear orange crystals whizzed around burning holes in those same mist dogs. With a long-suffering sigh, Christopher drew his sword.
XXX
The fire-ice flew around, propelled by Fletcher's wind, searing the sides of the beasts and making them stay back.
Now all Yokai had to do was find some way to beat Brad from where he was. Defeat the master, or the Alpha, and the Judgement would dissipate.
XXX
Christopher cleaved right through the smoke-beast, only for it to reform behind him. Irritating creature.
XXX
The Alpha lunged at Brad. Brad was not so stupid that he wouldn't come up with a plan to destroy beasts. Unfortunately, his plan required more distance between him and the wretched thing than he currently had.
The Alpha attacked him more ferociously than a dog trying to take a toy from a little boy who wouldn't let it have the toy. Whatever plan he may have had, Brad wasn't going to get the chance to execute it.
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Christopher's eyes blazed, and he swung his sword once more. This time, the creature dissipated for good. He was panting heavily. All that trouble for one shadow-dog? He hissed, arms aching even worse than they had before, and he heard a scream.
He turned his head towards the sound, just in time to see the legendary Brad T. Belcosa have his throat ripped out by the biggest Ether-hound of them all.
XXX
Yokai stared in horror at his uncle's body.
" Uncle..."
Yokai didn't win or feel any sense of achievement for his uncle's death. Once his uncle was truly dead the shards on his staff ran out of the energy needed to use them, and if Yokai ever tried to use one of them before the energy was completely eradicated it would mean death to him.
The Ether-hounds slowly began to disappear, and the fetid breeze stopped, leaving Fletcher the only wind source. The black clouds just . . . melted away, dim moonlight shining through once more. But the Alpha still remained. It would remain until the Ether shard of Brad's staff either ran out of energy or was destroyed.
XXX
The Alpha growled. Unlike the other shadows, the Alpha wasn't dissipating. Christopher just growled back at it, mildly irritated. He looked back at Yokai, watching the monk gesture at the stick on the ground. Looking at the length of wood, Christopher realised that there were two shards embedded in it. A third lay on the ground beside the largest mist-beast, red and blue smoke swirling within its depths. Christopher had never seen anything like it, and reached out-
Snap!
He quickly snatched away his hand before the damn dog could bite it off. He waved his sword at it in annoyance, slowly beginning to circle it in an attempt to reach the staff for Yokai. The beast's beady yellow eyes watched him closely. It bothered him.
XXX
Yokai slowly aproached the two, Fletcher grumbling beside him. As an elemental wielder, the Alpha would only try to kill him like it had his uncle Brad. But for someone like Chris, who had never touched a shard in his life, it was possible to handle the antagonistic creature. The monk blinked as a stick nearly whacked him in the face. He caught it on reflex, and stared at the top end. His uncle's shards. The lightning, ice, and fire shards Yokai already had. But the air and earth shards were rare. He slowly backed away, leaving Fletcher to watch his crew mate argue with a stubborn Ether-hound.
XXX
"Stupid dog."
The Alpha growled again, it and Christopher circling around the last shard. Every time Christopher tried to grab it, the smoke-dog would try to bit his hand off, and it was making him thoroughly frustrated.
He made another snatch for it.
Snap!
Christopher had had a long night. Getting blown up, idiot swordsman and arrogant snipers and cranky magic dogs had worn down his patience.
"I'm having that whether you like it or not." He hissed, reaching for the swirling crystal. The Alpha leaped for his-
"That is it! Die! Begone!" Christopher yelled, swinging his sword with fury. To his surprise, the black blade went right through the creature, clinking against the ground. Wait, clinking?
The Alpha finally disappeared. Christopher looked down at his sword. Attached to the blade, just above the guard, was a swirling red and blue gem.
XXX
Yokai smiled, having successfully attached two new shards to the top of his staff. He turned at the sound of laughter.
"Rahahaha! You should have seen the look on your face!" Fletcher said, holding his stomach. Christopher's stupefied expression turned into a look of mortification.
"Sh-shut up! I just wasn't expecting that! Hey, monk, how do you get this thing off?!" Christopher yelled, trying to pull a shard off his sword hilt.
"You can't." Yokai replied, "It's yours now."
"What do I want with a smoky dog-rock?!" Christopher asked incredulously.
"If you didn't want the Ether shard, why did you pick it up?" Yokai replied sensibly. Christopher opened and shut his mouth like a gold-fish.
"B-but it killed Brad! I don't want to be next!" The cook yelled indignantly.
Yokai sighed before he answered.
"It won't kill you. You're not an elementalist."
"A what now?" Upon seeing Christopher's confused expression, Fletcher once more dissolved into laughter. Yokai had to talk louder to be heard over top of him.
"An elementalist, like me. We are the only ones who can create and destroy Ether shards. The hounds hate us for it, because they would rather be left alone in whatever realm they exist in. But you're not an elementalist, so it won't be mad at you."
"It tried to bite my hand off." Christopher deadpanned. Yokai rolled his eyes.
"That was to test you. I've heard of this happening before. Now that it's attached to your sword, it will obey you."
Yokai went back to fiddling with Brad's staff. It was traditional to remove all shards upon the death of their wielder. He would add them to the Treasure, if it hadn't been destroyed already. Collapsing buildings weren't exactly the safest place for priceless artifacts.
XXX
Christopher lightly bopped his captain on the head to stop him laughing, grumbling to himself. How had the shard got stuck to his sword anyway? It was magic. He wasn't going to get an explanation. He grabbed Fletcher's arm, walking past the broken tower towards the docks where he'd tied up the ship.
XXX
With a faint click, the last shard came free of Brad's staff. Yokai approached the ruins warily, hoping that the Treasure had survived.
Yokai wanted his luck to change. His uncle became his enemy, his father was dead, and Yokai had very special powers that made life more of a never ending torture than a gift.
He wasn't entirely sure if adding to the Treasure would fix that, but it worth a try. Something in the rubble, drawing him towards it. Was his very treasure underneath the rubble he was drawn to? Yokai didn't know yet. He had to remove the rubble first.
He clutched the three shards that had once belonged to his uncle tight in his hand, carefully walking across the unstable masonry towards the gleam. He slowly bent down, not wanting to lose his balance. With the hand not holding the shards, he brushed away the dust and dirt, flicking small pebbles to the side. A couple of larger rocks were cautiously lifted away.
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Christopher stood between his captain and the fried fish.
"But I'm hungry!" Fletcher whined.
"If I let you have some now, you'll just eat it all."
"But-"
"No buts. Wait for Yokai. Don't you want him to join the crew or something?"
Fletcher's eyes lit up. "If I get Yokai, I get food?"
Christopher slapped himself in the forehead. Really, his captain was even dumber than usual when he was hungry.
"Yes. Sure. Yokai equals food. Whatever."
"Yeah!" Fletcher punched the air, going back to fetch his meal ticket. Christopher took the chance to examine his sword while he had some peace and quiet.
XXX
Yokai stared at the Treasure, eyes wide with wonder. The orb's surface swirled with colour, blues and greens and yellow, fiery orange and red. This was the thing his order had protected for centuries, what his father had ultimately died for. Anetha's Treasure. It was . . . beautiful. Slowly, he touched the shards to it, one by one. The orb's surface rippled and shone as he did so.
He stroked the smooth surface with awe on his features. Then, reverently, he picked it up. Slowly, he carried it towards the shore.
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Fletcher spotted the monk staring out to sea holding a pretty rainbow ball close to his chest. Fletcher's stomach did the equation : Bring Yokai back = Get fed. The boy raced towards the ragged figure.
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Yokai gently placed the orb on the sand, where it would best catch the light of the sun. He shivered, the sea-breeze cold on his arms, the Ether-hounds having ripped away his sleeves. He stood and turned to go.
"Yokai!"
He turned at the sound of his name,
"I'm HUNGRY!"
Yokai's brow furrowed in confusion. He almost tripped as the enthusiastic wind-user yanked on his arm.
"Come on! Chris said he'll give me food if you join the crew!"
Yokai didn't have time to reply, as suddenly he found himself being pulled through the air as Fletcher activated his power.
XXX
Chris ran his finger down the sword-blade, but nothing seemed to have changed. He glared at the crystal stuck to the hilt. What was he supposed to do with it? He tapped it with his finger.
Pulse
He snatched his finger away, eyes wide. Then, hesitantly, he tapped it again.
Pulse
He cautiously wrapped his hand around his sword hilt, feeling the Ether shard underneath his fingers. He tried not to flinch as it continued to pulse, once every couple of seconds. It was as if it was . . . alive. Then again, hadn't Yokai said something about the smoke-dogs coming from another world? Maybe it really was alive, trapped inside the crystal. He had a bad feeling, though, that that wasn't quite the case.
Christopher turned to look out of the doorway. His face turned white, and he leapt out of the way as Fletcher crashed into the cabin, barely avoiding impaling himself on his own sword. The captain had a dazed looking monk with him. Trembling slightly, taking deep breaths, he got back to his feet. He sheathed his swords. He let out a sigh. Then he punched Fletcher.
Leaving the wind user clutching his head in the corner, Christopher put the fish onto plates for everyone.
XXX
A few minutes later, the fish had been "eaten". Fletcher had just inhaled most of it, and was now taking a nap. Christopher thought that his captain was a lot like a child a lot of the time. Christopher turned to Yokai, who was staring into space with a vacant smile.
Waving a hand in front of the monk's face, Christopher said "Hello? Anybody home?"
There was no reaction, so Christopher flicked him in the forehead.
"Hey! What was that for?" Yokai exclaimed indignantly.
"To get your attention," Christopher said.
"Well, now you have it."
Christopher thought for a moment before he asked "Right back at the start, you said that Brad was guarding some kind of treasure. What was so special about it?"
Yokai smiled, staring into space once more. "Why is the Treasure so special? Why wouldn't it be?" He fell silent, so Christopher flicked him again.
Yokai frowned at Christopher in annoyance, muttering something about patience. Christopher just raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"The Treasure," Yokai began, "has been guarded by my order for centuries. It was gifted to us by Anetha, along with the knowledge of how to create and wield Ether shards like the one now on your sword."
Christopher frowned as Yokai continued.
"When it was given to us, Anetha decreed that we should from that moment forward protect it at all costs. She told us that the shards of each fallen elementalist should be given up to the Treasure, to strengthen it against those who would do it harm. This, we have done. In fact, I added three of my uncle's shards to it just now." Yokai looked dreamy for a moment, before his face grew troubled.
"To protect it, the leaders of our order hid it within our tower from the sight of outsiders to protect it from harm. It has been the same for centuries. Most of us only ever saw it when it was taken out on special occasions. Nothing ever changed . . . until my father. He . . . he dreamed that one day, everyone would be able to see the stone whenever they wanted. Visitors to our island were rare, so it should have been safe enough . . ." Yokai trailed off, glaring at nothing in particular, before continuing in a low voice.
"My uncle didn't want people to see it, not even members of our own order. He wanted it so only the leader could look at its beauty. And he wanted to be that leader, to take my father's place . . . He and the man most loyal to him returned from wherever they had been hiding, breaching the tower in the middle of the night. Tor caused a ruckus and stole the Treasure, while Brad killed my father in his sleep. He claimed that because Tor was able to steal it, the Treasure wasn't safe outside the leader's care. The truth was that my uncle was jealous. My father had all six of the elemental shards, and he had even gifted three shards to me rather than make search for them. After he killed my father, Brad stole his shards and cast me out of the tower. You already know the rest of it."
Christopher sat silent, digesting this information. Fletcher murmured something about meat in his sleep. Then Christopher said, "So it was given to you by that Anetha person. It basically eats shards. But what does it actually do?"
Yokai shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what it does," he said, "but I know that it must be important, for why else would Anetha give it to us?"
"Speaking of which, who is Anetha?"
"Anetha is . . ."
Yokai preceded to give Christopher a long speech singing the praises of his goddess.
Before he could fall asleep from boredom, Christopher had one last question.
"Where is Anetha's Treasure now?"
With a smile, Yokai replied, "My father wanted everyone to see it. I made it possible. Go look out the door and see!"
Christopher poked his head out the door, just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Its rays caught on something, making it flash and grab Christopher's attention. Way along the shore to his left, a pretty shiny colourful round thing sat in the sand in the sun. The way it was positioned, it would be visible for miles.
Curiosity satisfied, Christopher went and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. It had been a long night. His head fell onto his chest as he finally got some sleep.
Yokai fell asleep too.
XXX
Six hours later . . .
Yokai yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. His back hurt, courtesy of having slept in a chair while using a table as a pillow.
Christopher also yawned and stretched, rolling his shoulders and rubbing the crick in his neck. That's what he got for sleeping on the floor.
Fletcher stayed fast asleep, curled up in his corner. Christopher decided that that was a good thing, seeing as the boy would only bug him for food if he was awake. Speaking of food, was Yokai still here? Yes, yes he was. Which meant that it was time to set sail before the monk could change his mind about joining the crew.
Within minutes, the ship was under way.
XXX
And so, after a night of fighting, a fish, and a long nap, the isle of assassins was left behind. The assassin monk had no qualms about joining the small crew, the captain was fast asleep, and the assassin-trained cook was worrying about what came next, as he was prone to do.
As the small ship sailed under the noon sun, the cook put a hand on the hilt of his sword, having an unexplainable sense of unease. He turned to face the isle, a rainbow glint catching his eye. The jewel on his sword hilt pulsed, like a heartbeat. He felt sure that that wasn't the last they'd hear of this little incident.