Second Chapter!
This one's a bit shorter, but has a lot more going on. I'm not too proud of the last chapter, but I'm never good at those. Once I get things going, the writing gets better. Plus, I have a lot more fun once all the boring stuff is out of the way. XD
I should warn about violence and such. If you don't like blood (or words describing blood), don't say I didn't tell you.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respectful owners (Square-Enix and Disney)
It took Jack and Isa almost no time to reach the square, and they were fearful of what might be so wrong to spark such disturbing cries for help. In Halloween Town fear was sought after, but it was in good spirits. Nobody was supposed to come to any harm, especially on Jack's watch.
What they found was not the celebration they knew, but mass chaos. People were running about in panic, as foreign, shadowy creatures seemed to be lunging at them. The reality struck Isa when he witnessed several of these creatures swarm and bury one victim. Without a second thought, Isa left Jack behind as he bolted into the middle of the square. Using his powerful muscles and claw-like fingernails, the werewolf tore through the creatures viciously. Rage boiled deep within him, and he was not about to stop until every single one of these was either dead or in retreat.
The foul creatures were relentless in their attacks on the citizens, and they grouped together and took their prey down one at a time. What happened to the victim then, Isa had no idea. Their beady yellow eyes shone in the moonlight, and seemed to hold no resemblance of a soul. A bunch of them jumped up and latched onto Isa, but he tore them away. They wanted to make him a victim, as well. No, he was not allowing himself to be pulled down. He was a fighter, not a victim. His only thought now was to make victims of these monsters. The creatures did not bleed, much to his surprise. Nor did they leave corpses. They simply faded.
Finding his claws were not enough, Isa dodged another group lunge and ran for one of the nearby buildings. Rather than run for shelter and safety like most of the others, he opted to find a suitable weapon. There was little he could find with so little time, but he was willing to improvise. He found a loose plank of wood on the side of a building and ripped it off with a grunt. It was long and heavy enough to make a good weapon. Turning around, Isa found himself cornered by at least a dozen of the attackers, and they were inching closer in slow, fluid movements. If these things had possessed the slightest idea of what a werewolf was, they would have known better than to corner one. Snarling, Isa swung his makeshift weapon and obliterated two of them with ease. The rest jumped for him. Some met the wooden bludgeon while airborne, while others met his claws as he desperately tore them away.
Running away from the building and the risk of getting cornered, Isa looked upwards to see more of the shadows coming down from rooftops. There were hundreds, at least. Two larger figures caught his eye, however. They too were on a roof, but stayed still while the shadow creatures caused the carnage. They had none of the creatures even near them. Despite the darkness, he recognised something about them. They were both human in shape, but covered in all black and wearing hoods. They seemed to be watching the horror below, either staying put out of cowardice, or because they were enjoying the show. Isa opted to assume the latter, and with a snarl, he ran towards the house they were on. If they were causing all of this, he would stop them.
Dodging the shadows as they tried to grab him, the werewolf made the short but difficult journey to the little building. He jumped from a pile of firewood to an awning, and climbed the room from there. He was lucky to be so agile and steady on his feet, otherwise climbing up would be difficult. The two hooded ones were expecting him but only laughed when he ran at them swinging. It was cold and ruthless sounding to Isa's ears, but he still charged. With little other movement, one brought their gloved hand back and swung it when the young man was close enough. Before he could even come within a foot it his target with the wooden plank, Isa felt the shocking force of the back of the enemy's hand colliding with the left side of his face. The sheer power behind the blow sent him reeling backwards. Even more laughter filled the night air. Lucky to still be on the roof, albeit close to the edge, the werewolf pulled himself to his hands and knees. His weapon was nowhere in sight, but that was not important to him in this state. The world felt like it was spinning for a moment, but once blood hit his tongue, everything became strikingly calm.
The screams below faded from his hearing, and it was dominated by his own pulse pounding in his ears. Blood filled his sense of smell and taste. There was no more panic, only pure, channelled anger that left his senses collected and at one with one another. He had two targets ahead of them, and for the moment, his whole world revolved around them. They would die by Isa's claws.
The fiendish snarl that followed was enough to pull a reaction from his cloaked foes, as far as he could see. They stopped laughing, and despite the hoods covering their faces, it was evident that things had become much more serious. Isa's lips curled and he bared his teeth, which were tinted red with his own blood. He could very well get himself killed with his persistence, but such logic never crossed his mind. His claws dug deep into the old shingles and tore them like paper. The two seemed to look at each other, then nod. Not one word was exchanged.
One of the hooded ones raised their hand upwards and seemed to summon a dark, smoke-like disc. It was even darker than the night sky above them. Isa got to his feet, and as he did, a white and purple form slipped into sight through the disc. It was winged, and completely angular in shape. Like a human-sized dragon, that held a wicked spear in its grasp. Everything about, even the purple straps that laced and wrapped around its neck and torso, commanded fear. It landed in front of the werewolf, and seemed to stare at him without eyes. But Isa had no room in his heart for fear, and was not about to let it intimidate him. Claws ready, he lunged at the new foe.
The summoner snapped their fingers, and the armed creature attacked. Unfortunately for Isa, it was too fast for even his sharp reflexes. With the spear, it slashed upwards, and then downwards, both diagonal. Both blows hit the young man in the face, which left him stunned and momentarily blind. He screamed in agony and clutched his face, staggering backwards while trying to regain his balance. The attacker then slammed its body against his, sending Isa over the edge of the roof. The werewolf knew the sensation of falling, but that of hitting the bare ground with his back first was an unwelcome new feeling. All air was knocked out of his lungs, and all he could do was gasp pathetically while still holding his bleeding face. He could still hear screaming, but at that point was unsure whether it was himself or some other victim of this horror.
It was not long before the shadow creatures took advantage of the situation and tried to swarm him. With all the fight that remained in him, Isa thrashed against their dark hold. He refused to go quietly, and in his last moments of rage, two more of the living shadows fell to his claws. A sudden explosion of even more pain in his chest made the man scream again, although he hardly knew it. He was only tortured for a few seconds longer as the pain faded, but at the same time his grasp on consciousness did as well. His last, desperate thoughts before the bittersweet oblivion took over were the flickering remains of his rage, and a despairing pining to see the comforting moon, hanging peacefully in the sky.