Author's note: Yo.
Yokai are everywhere~! Causing you problems, messing up your hair~!
... Except not anymore, coz they're freaking dead.
Hey there! I'm back with another instalment of Yokaitale! It's only set to get stranger from here.
... Seriously, though, can I take a moment to talk about how incredibly narmy the Yokai Watch game is? XD Like... seriously.
... Good thing I've got a complete weak spot for narm charm!
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!
P.S. I fixed Cadin's speech in the previous chapter to be more old-fashioned. Yay!
P.P.S. I also edited the ending of chapter 13, because I figured there was a twinge of mood whiplash between chapters. It flows better now!
Chapter Fifteen: Horrors
The towns had once been bustling with life. Energy. Happiness. Now, they were barren.
Any yokai that weren't already dead had gone into hiding, away from the nightmare that stalked the streets.
Not even the music held any glimmer of hope. The slow-paced tracks from earlier had been replaced with a harsh chord, repeated over and over again.
In Determination, Nick's eyes had glimmered with curiosity. Sparkled with love and friendship.
In But Nobody Came, however, his eyes were blank. Cold. Calculating.
In stark contrast were Clefairy's eyes. They still held their expression of child-like joy and wonderment. It had been endearing in the other movie. Wearing the same expression while mercilessly killing those she'd otherwise called friends, however, was more than a little disturbing.
Buneary hadn't stopped clinging to Pikachu's arm, and it seemed it was only set to get worse.
Nick stood pressed against a wall. Waiting. Listening. Beside him, Clefairy smiled to herself as she swayed from side to side. An eerie purple aura was emanating around her.
Suddenly, a small group of yokai - which seemed to consist of Tattletell, Blazion, Walkappa, Noko and Komajiro - ran past. Stopping for breath and looking around in paranoid fear, they discussed what to do next. Komajiro was crying, desperate to find his missing brother, while Walkappa was trying to keep him calm.
They'd gotten separated from the others. They were lost. Confused. Scared.
A knot formed in Pikachu's chest as the camera showed a glint in Nick's eye.
"Proceed," he said simply.
Clefairy nodded. Holding out her claws, she attempted to form a Shadow Ball. However, for some reason, it was pink, instead. The fairy looked surprised.
Nick looked down at her. "Moonblast, eh?"
Clefairy's eyes brightened.
"... Kill them."
Nodding in response, she fired off a pink orb.
When it hit Blazion, the fire lion instantly exploded in a cloud of purple smoke. Every pair of pupils dilated in terror.
The screams that followed were horrifying. Pikachu cringed as the group scattered, each one being chased down by a deadly pink orb. Upon contact, they would instantly explode into nothing, all trace of their existence gone.
... He'd never even heard of Moonblast, but, now, he was rather hoping it didn't exist.
When the group had all been absorbed, the area was once again deathly silent. With a satisfied huff, Nick moved elsewhere, Clefairy hot on his heels.
Suddenly, the camera panned sideways slightly, revealing a hidden figure in the shadows.
Someone had been watching.
After a moment, though, it disappeared out of view.
One by one, the yokai fell. Families were torn apart, friends were separated. Even lovers weren't safe.
When Clefairy killed Happierre right in front of his wife, Dismarelda, she was horrified. Heartbroken. She fell to the floor in sobs. Then she begged for death, herself. Clefairy was only too happy to oblige.
Pikachu wasn't sure how much more he could take.
Eventually, after enough yokai had fallen, two members of the royal guard - known as Helmsman and Armsman - stepped in to block Nick's path. Appalled and disgusted by his mass genocide, they refused to let him proceed.
Completely unfazed, Nick wordlessly called on Clefairy with a flick of his wrist. The fairy responded by stepping in front of him and charging up a Moonblast.
With a sound of glee, she fired it.
Pikachu expected the yokai to die immediately. Surprisingly, though, they both managed to dodge the attack. Pikachu's eyes widened.
Looking slightly perturbed, Nick told Clefairy to attack again. Obliging, the fairy fired off a volley of Moonblasts. The two yokai were fast, however, so they dodged out of the way. Then they started fighting back.
Clefairy had actually begun to take damage.
A spark of hope flared in Pikachu's chest. Could this be where things turned around?
The fight lasted a while. Longer than the others had. Helmsman and Armsman had put up an incredible fight, but they were starting to wear down. They were starting to lose.
Just when Pikachu had begun to give up on their success, however, they did something surprising. They combined their strength and, in a flash of bright yellow light, fused together.
The resulting yokai was taller, wearing a full body of armour and carrying a spear. He introduced himself as Reuknight.
Pikachu's eyes widened at the new development.
The fight had been long and arduous, and Reuknight had done his best to protect his fellow yokai. Even Buneary had been sitting forward in her seat in anxious anticipation.
Ultimately, though, it had ended the same way. Clefairy had destroyed and absorbed the powerful yokai.
With an almost proud nod to his pokémon, Nick continued on his way.
Buneary whimpered, leaning back against Pikachu. "(Can no one stop them?)" she asked quietly.
Pikachu hesitated. "(... I-I'm sure someone will,)" he replied. "(Th-They wouldn't just have him kill everything...)" He forced on a smile. "(... Right?)"
Buneary whined slightly in response.
One by one, the yokai continued to fall, no one able to put up half the fight that Reuknight had. It was starting to look hopeless.
Suddenly, Cupistol blocked Nick's path, holding a box.
"That's as far you go!" the yokai said, flipping his long pink hair.
Pikachu paused. Wait, wasn't that box the one Cupistol had shown Nick in the other movie? The one he'd said contained a family heirloom?
Before Nick could say anything in response, Cupistol flung open the box, revealing two heart-shaped guns called love busters. In a flash of yellow light, he fused with them.
The new yokai - with his purple humanoid form and love busters for hands - proclaimed that his name was Casanuva.
Just as another hope spot appeared for Pikachu, it was immediately crushed with a Moonblast from Clefairy.
... Was there really no hope anymore?
With almost all the yokai dead, and even the big bad from the previous movie stepping down in awe from Clefairy's power - before being mercilessly killed, himself - Nick seemed to have nothing in his way.
The fairy glowed a disturbing shade of purple, tiny crackles dancing across her skin. Nick, however, had a new destination in mind: the pokémon world.
He had the strongest pokémon alive, with power that rivalled - maybe even surpassed - that of Arceus himself. In his home world, he'd be unbeatable. Unstoppable.
He'd destroy everything.
... Was there no one left to stop him?
"(... I...)" Buneary muttered.
"(Hmm?)" Pikachu asked, glancing down at her.
She gripped his arm harder. "(I'm not sure I wanna... see how this ends...)"
He gave her a sympathetic look. He completely understood. All of the strongest yokai had been defeated already, so there didn't seem to be much hope for a happy ending.
... Well, perhaps it would never be a happy ending at this point, but he'd at least been hoping for a bittersweet one.
Sighing, he picked up the remote. "(Alright...)" He moved his finger towards the power button.
"... Stop," a familiar voice suddenly said to Nick.
Pikachu halted.
Nick glanced up, no amount of surprise on his face. "... You," he replied.
"... Me," Komasan said, straightening himself to look Nick dead in the eyes.
Pikachu's eyes widened. In shock, he dropped the remote.
He'd been wondering where Komasan had gone! He'd just assumed the dog had been blasted apart, like the other yokai. Perhaps in the background of a crowd shot, or something, but he was still alive?
... And he was standing in Nick's way?!
Quickly, he glanced in Buneary's direction. Upon seeing her look of intrigue at the new development, he looked intently back at the screen, now fully invested.
Nick wordlessly flicked his wrist. Obeying, Clefairy stood in front of him, looking ready to attack.
Komasan's eyes narrowed.
Pikachu's heart raced as he desperately leaned forwards in his seat. What was Komasan thinking?! There was no way he could take on Clefairy by himself! If Reuknight and Casanuva had stood no chance, then what hope did he have?! He hadn't even battled in the previous movie, because he'd been too scared to!
"... You killed 'em," Komasan said slowly. "... All of 'em. All o' my friends... my family..."
Nick didn't respond.
"You killed Jibanyan... my best friend... 'n' Komajiro... my little brother..."
Still, Nick said nothing. Honestly, Pikachu thought it was strange that he hadn't ordered an attack yet.
... Perhaps he was enjoying this sad little speech. Enjoying hearing how many yokai he'd killed.
As Komasan bowed his head, Pikachu's heart clenched into a painful knot.
"... If only I'd done somethin' sooner... If only I hadn't waited... prayed someone else would take care o' you..." Komasan paused. "But now? Now there's no one left... No one left but me..."
The yokai raised his head, his eyes glowing an eerie mixture of blue and yellow.
"And I can't let you go free... I can't let you do to your world... what you did to mine!"
Suddenly, he was surrounded by swirling purple mist. With a flash of white light, he was engulfed in a cloud of purple smoke.
For a moment, Pikachu held his breath. Purple smoke usually meant death in this movie. Could this be the first good purple smoke...?
Eventually, it cleared, revealing a much taller creature. The blue fire on Komasan's eyebrows and tail was also now on his head, wrists and feet. The green rucksack he usually wore on his back was now a cape.
The creature straightened, his glare still glowing an intense blue and yellow. "I am Komane. A guardian lion dog." He snarled, baring his teeth. "And I refuse to cower any longer!"
Pikachu's jaw fell open. He blinked once. Then twice.
... Was this really happening right now?!
The adorable, timid little yokai who'd always been easily shocked and crying, 'Oh my swirls!' at everything... What had he turned into?!
Surrounding himself in blue and red fire, Komane shot into the sky, leaving a blazing trail in his wake. "Die!" he screamed.
The fire burst from his body, careening towards Nick and Clefairy.
Just far enough away, Nick jumped back to avoid the attack. Clefairy, however, was much too close. In a panic, she jumped left and right to avoid the wisps of fire that were falling down like rain. Once they all landed, they created a wall of blue flames that seared her skin. She screeched in pain, jumping away from it.
Quickly landing again, Komane shot out a purple mist from his body. It encircled Clefairy and singed her fur. She flinched.
Nick narrowed his eyes. "You burned her," he said simply.
"Yes," Komane replied. "I did."
"Tsk... Clefairy. End this."
With a nod, Clefairy lifted one arm above her head. A spinning purple disc of Psyshock formed, quickly growing in size. Flinching again, she swung her arm, sending the disc flying towards Komane.
The lion dog leapt out of the way, causing the disc's razor-sharp edge to collide with the floor, slicing a clean cut through it.
Nick lowered his head into shadow. "More."
"(Right!)" Clefairy replied.
Flinching again, she threw multiple razor-sharp discs at Komane, who desperately tried to dodge them, lest he get his body sliced in two. Once he managed to get close enough, he wound back his arm and punched Clefairy across the face. She flew backwards from the pain.
"Clefairy," Nick said harshly.
Landing, she lifted her claws above her head and formed a crackling purple orb, which quickly grew over five times her size. Flinching again, she swung her arms back and threw the Shadow Ball at Komane.
It was a direct hit.
Exploding on contact, it sent him flying backwards. He landed on his knees, skidding and scraping his skin. Pounding a fist into the ground, he stopped his momentum.
He panted, pushing himself with much exertion onto his feet.
"... You're stubborn," Nick said.
"No," Komane replied, looking up to glare at him. "I'm determined."
Shooting forwards, he began punching Clefairy. First with his left fist. Then his right. Then his left again. She was helpless to the constant barrage.
"All those yokai ya killed... most of 'em weren't even tryin'. They just wanted to play." As he punched Clefairy away, purple wisps formed around him. The ground underneath the fairy rumbled. "... And you slaughtered 'em." The ground suddenly cracked open, spewing red fire all over Clefairy. She screeched in agony. "Every last one of 'em!"
As Clefairy began to run around, more cracks opened up, spewing out red fire. The frown lines on Nick's face deepened as he began to bare his teeth.
Clefairy flinched from the burn she still had. "(You won't beat me!)" she cried, lifting a claw and pointing it at Komane.
Out of it shot a concentrated beam of Flamethrower, which hit Komane in the chest. He cried out in pain as it burned his skin.
Pikachu was staring at the screen, wondering when the final blow would come. The only thing that stood between Nick and the pokémon world's destruction was Komane. The second he died, it would all be over.
The question was, how long would it take?
He continued to watch as blow after blow was exchanged, the tension increasing with every new cut and bruise. Was Komane strong enough to take out Clefairy?
Glancing sideways, he could see that even Buneary was invested now. She was no longer cowering, instead staring at the screen with a look of horrified wonder. He looked back at the screen himself, not wanting to miss anything.
Both parties were now panting in exhaustion, with barely the energy to stand. Nick, now looking furious, charged forwards.
"Clefairy, what are you doing?!" he screamed. "Kill him already!"
Suddenly, Komane's eyes glowed blue and yellow. "Gotcha," he said.
A crack opened up directly between Nick and Clefairy, spewing fire and engulfing both of them. They screamed in agony.
Pikachu's eyes widened. That was the first time Nick had been hit in this movie! He'd suffered a few scrapes in Determination, but nothing in this one. Clefairy had shielded him, taking all the damage for herself.
As the fire cleared away, Nick stumbled around, clutching his burned arm. He screamed at Clefairy, asking why she didn't protect him with Friend Guard, and Pikachu was again reminded of the other movie.
In Determination, her ability had helped to keep all of her friends safe, reducing their damage by a quarter. Here, however, it hadn't seemed to have triggered at all.
Wincing from the injuries and the burn, Clefairy turned to Nick with a slightly crooked smile. "(You're not my friend~)" she said.
A small gasp came from Buneary.
Sensing something was wrong, Nick slowly took a few steps back.
"... Enough foolin' around," Komane said. Surrounding himself in blue and red fire, he flew into the air. "This ends now!" The fire shot from his body, careening towards Clefairy.
Responding in kind, Clefairy quickly charged up a Moonblast. She flinched from her burn, then fired the pink blast in a stream of light. It crashed into the blue and red fire.
The two attacks desperately pushed against each other, each one trying to gain dominance. Whoever won the struggle would probably also win victory.
Pikachu was literally on the edge of his seat, almost falling off it as he waited for the conclusion.
The Moonblast pushed against the fire, but then the fire pushed back. He wasn't sure which one was going to win.
Then Clefairy flinched.
The Moonblast weakened slightly, and that was all the opening the fire needed. It pushed back with twice the force, overwhelming the pink beam of light.
"(No... no!)" Clefairy cried, her eyes wide.
Even Nick was rendered speechless as the fire engulfed his pokémon.
There was a colossal explosion, one that rocked the landscape and caused debris to fly in every direction. Nick shielded his eyes from the blast as he flew backwards, hitting the cold, hard ground.
Light filled up the screen. Pikachu and Buneary were silent as they waited with bated breath for the result.
Eventually, the light cleared. Wincing from his wounds, Nick slowly opened his eyes and looked around. On the floor, surrounding him, were lots of small pink specs. All that was left of Clefairy.
Pikachu's breath caught in his throat. It was over? It was finally over?
Nick's eyes widened. His breath hitching, he tried scrambling to his feet. In too much pain, he fell back down again.
Komane slowly lowered himself to the ground. Panting heavily from his exhaustion, he made his way over to Nick.
Once Nick noticed, he scurried backwards on his hands, suddenly looking afraid. Words seemed to be failing him.
Komane callously stepped over several pieces of Clefairy, glaring intensely at his next target.
"... P... Please..." Nick stuttered, "don't kill me!"
"Oh, that's rich, comin' from you," Komane spat.
"Please. I can change! I can be a good person. Just... give me a chance!"
Komane stopped in front of Nick, slamming a foot down on his leg to keep him in place. Nick screamed in agony.
"What, like ya gave all o' the yokai a chance?!"
"I... I can change..."
Lunging forward, Komane punched him across the face. It broke his nose, sending blood trickling down his mouth.
"The only thing you can do... is die."
As purple wisps began to swirl around the yokai, Nick's pupils dilated in terror. Hurriedly, he tried to scramble away.
"H-Help! Someone! Anyone! Get this..." He winced and fell onto his face. "Maniac away from me!"
Komane stood beside Nick, kicking him painfully onto his back. "... You're pathetic." He picked him up by the front of his shirt, and the camera suddenly switched to Nick's point of view. It almost felt like Pikachu was the one being held up. "How many of the yokai ya killed did the same thing? And how many did ya actually listen to?" He threw him back down. The camera shook upon impact. "They probably screamed... cried... even begged for mercy. Maybe they even asked for help."
His eyes glowed, flickering eerily between blue and yellow. "... But nobody came."
Suddenly, an explosion of fire engulfed the camera. Nick's agonised scream could be heard as the screen went black.
The credits began rolling to a dark rock song with a heavy bass. Pikachu couldn't seem to close his mouth.
Wow. Just... wow. That ending had left him completely speechless.
He turned to see Buneary's reaction, and wasn't surprised to see that she was also staring at the screen, eyes wide. She slowly turned to face him.
"(... So, uh...)" he said, "(... yeah.)"
"(Yeah...)" she replied.
"(That was... some movie.)"
"(No kidding...)"
There was a long awkward pause as the credits continued to roll.
"(... That was a cool fight at the end,)" Buneary continued.
"(Yeah. It was pretty cool.)"
"(Wanna... stay up and talk about it?)"
"(Do you... not wanna go to bed? It's pretty late.)"
"(Not... quite yet.)"
Ah. He understood now. She was just as freaked out by that movie as he was. Perhaps even more so, since she was known to be rather timid.
He gave a small smile. "(Well, alright then.)"
She smiled back faintly. "(Thanks, Pikachu.)"
"(No problem.)"
It wasn't as if he minded the thought of staying up. After all, he doubted it'd be easy to sleep after watching that. Even for him.
Since there was plenty to talk about, though, he had a feeling they'd be at this for a while...