Yo-kai Watch: A Rewrite (Book 1 of the Rewrite Series)

Chapter 24: The Three Gates

"Wait a minute...didn't we see Yo-kai like that in Draggie's crystal ball?"

"Yeah. They were in the same room as Mckraken when we saw him, which means that they have to be his followers! We're getting close to him if we're seeing his followers!"

None of them knew if they should be happy or scared that they were on the right track. On one hand, they were getting closer to hopefully delaying the invasion. On the other hand, these Yo-kai and Mckraken have been running their operation for a while and were probably as strong as the group, if not stronger.

It must be terrible for any Yo-kai that happen to be the same color as Mckraken's followers. If it wasn't for the fact that his followers appear to have glowing red eyes, Yo-kai like Whisper and Komasan would probably never be trusted unless they could prove that they were against Mckraken's ideals.

Nate and Katie looked at their Yo-kai companions, who were practicing fighting and Whisper was making sure that they didn't damage themselves too much and end up wasting their healing items before the big battle.

We haven't been with these guys for long, but to imagine not having them around feels strange. They've already made themselves a huge part of our lives...

"Ready to head back up?"

They were snapped out of their thoughts by Whisper, who was now gesturing towards the rope. They nodded, climbed back up to the blue gate, and started walking forward to the gate guarded by Orcanos.

*****

Meanwhile, with Mckraken...

Mckraken sent some of his followers to the part of the bridge that connected the gate that Orcanos guarded to the Lord's Gate.

If those kids expect to get to me, they'll have to go through my followers first!

Mckraken had a malicious smile on his face as he sat on the throne and patiently waited, either for his followers to defeat and capture the kids and the traitorous Yo-kai accompanying them or for the group to walk into the throne room themselves, allowing him to be the last thing that they'll ever face.

Once they're defeated, by my hand or otherwise, there'll be nothing to stop me from taking over these realms!

*****

The group walked up to Orcanos, the final gate guardian. He was very intimidating to the group, but not enough to scare them from their task. They patiently waited as he looked the group over.

"You have fought well to make it this far. The Lord's Gate is just beyond this gate, but be warned. Mckraken and his followers are not to be taken lightly."

Orcanos disappeared from the gate and the group went down the rope to Hooligan Road before the bridge could shake and mess up their balance. When their feet touched the ground, they released the rope and decided to look around at Hooligan Road and the first thing that hit them was how hot it was. The heat was very uncomfortable and the fact that there was lava or magma below the rocky paths made it clear that this was a volcano area. The Yo-kai in the area, both normal and Mckraken's followers, seemed to be used to the heat, but to Nate and Katie, this was unbearable and they were pretty sure that the Yo-kai Watch was the only thing keeping them from feeling the full effects of Hooligan Road's temperature.

"Can someone check and see if it's safe to climb back up? The heat's so unbearable down here."

Whisper mumbled,

"This is nothing. There's a much hotter place than Hooligan Road and if we ever find it, than you'll be wishing that you were back here...or maybe at home."

The kids considered asking Whisper what he was talking about, but then they realized that the rope hadn't been shaking since they got down here.

That's odd...the bridge would normally be shaking by now...did Mckraken give up already? No...from what we've heard about him, he's not going to give up just like that. He must have developed a better idea than just trying to throw us off balance so we would be delayed.

After Whisper went up to make sure that the bridge wasn't shaking and that it was safe to climb back up, the rest of the group climbed back up the rope and they passed through the black gate. They looked around as they noticed that the bridge was turning white as they walked towards the Lord's Gate. They saw more of Mckraken's followers as they walked, knowing that his followers were looking to pick a fight with them.

Well, if they want to fight us so badly, they can, but with the bonds between us and our Yo-kai, it'll be hard to defeat us.

*****

After fighting a few of Mckraken's followers, they found themselves at the Lord's Gate. There was an Eyepo, so they healed their Yo-kai, switched out Blandon for Venoct, and after he was summoned to the Lord's Gate with them, he said,

"This is it. We're going to face Mckraken, either stop or delay the invasion, and bring peace back to both realms."

"Is Lucas safe?"

"Yes, he's with Mr. Barton at the school. He's going to wait there until we come back."

The group braced themselves as they walked through the Lord's Gate and saw Mckraken sitting on the throne, waiting for them.