Well since of this story's popularity in the beginning, I finally started and finished up another chapter. Jack doesn't come in till the next chapter I think, this one is mainly setting up. Well umm….enjoy. Cool….watching for ya .

Chapter 2 The Town of Nightmares

Am I knocked out? I can't feel anything. Wait no. It's...cold...very cold. I'm not on that same dirt anymore. It feels different for some reason, why was it like that? So different. There had to be a reason. Then again...there hardly is. Guess I should get up first off. Wait a minute...voices. Voices of something. I hear something. Voices, footsteps. Something was coming...

Can't move, better not get up.

(NS)

Randall just starred where he was, not moving as much to attract attention, or inform his founders that he was alive, which wasn't actually far from the truth. Regardless, there were three separate kind of footsteps. Randall could tell. His hearing wasn't as bad as it use to be. The difference was the size of the person. A big one, a thin one, and sort of average. All three were coming close to him. Whomever they were, they didn't seem to notice him at first. Of course, Randall knew his luck wouldn't be enough to get him out of this.

"Hey Barrel! Lock! Look at this!". Randall growled in his mouth. Kids? Who else would it be. "Never seen that before...". "Well what do you expect Lock, you hardly want to see the whole place...". "Hey!".

"Anyway...what should we do with it Shock?". "Hmmm...maybe we should take him to the tree house...we'll take care of him then...Barrel you carry!". "Me! I can't carry that much even if I wanted to!". "He's right Shock...hey! Lets get our nap bag! That'll make it easy!". "Right...he looks like he won't get up for a long time...lets hurry!".

The steps pounded rapidly, then slowly started to leave. Then nothing. They were gone. What luck!

Randall had wanted to get up, his brain had already ordered to for the past several minutes. The seemingly minute long struggle to get up led to his hands pulling his upper body up. His eyes felt like crust as he tried to open them. Slightly dazed at first, which seemed to happen allot when he first woke up from anything, his vision slowly became a complete whole, making the sight of where he was seeming to be as strange as it was clear than it was as a blur.

The ground was a dark, almost purple gray. Randall was curious that it actually looked allot like his own scales. It had ripples in it, like sand, but this ground was solid like dirt, like solid Earth. The ripples made it feel almost like sitting on a pineapple. There were few trees spread out across the variety of hills. Each one having no leaves Their trunks were thin and gray, heading high and splitting off to only a few other branches. The place felt like a swirl cup in dinners, with the ground as it's body and the trees as it's several straws.

Randall was starting to feel cold now. With sudden interest, he looked up. A gasp was forming in his throat, but it couldn't escape because of the loss of water.

There were no stars. None. It was almost as if the sky was repainted a dark black, empty color, another layer that overlapped the glitters of light. Randall knew that both the human world and his own had stars in the sky. It was something that had always been there.

Another "one of the night" caught his attention. Looking higher with his eyes, he caught sight of the moon. But no. This wasn't the normal moon he knew. This one wasn't gray and white and was so far away. This moon….it was yellow. Like another sun in the sky that didn't blind you. And it was close. Randall was confused at this point. It wasn't natural for no stars….wasn't natural for yellow moon.

Randall gulped a lump forming in his throat, the two gasps that tried to escape. "A…a yellow moon?" he said to himself, a slight whisper and trying to use as little stress on his rasphry voice as he could.

He slowly got to his feet, clutching his left arms with which he had felt hit the ground first when he did. The sudden pain made him remember.

He looked down to the rippled ground beneath him, thinking. "(What was that thing?)" he thought. That thing that had grabbed him and pulled him inside. That….that thing that pulled him into that door….and placed him somewhere that….that he knew nothing about at all. This wasn't Mon nor Human. Wherever this was, he knew he had to find out. But, more importantly, he had to find somewhere to grab something to satisfy himself. He felt like he would shrivel up any moment.

Letting his logical side take over, Randall looked out over the hills for any signs of life he could. He remembered the kids, or whatever they could have been, that had found him when he first arrived. He figured that they would be heading to a place of there own. Still, Randall was smart enough that he knew that where they were going would lead to probably another knock out.

Taking a glance around him, he saw something in the distance. It looked like some sort of tower, but Randall couldn't tell what it was exactly. Going on instinct….

"(Just move!)".

(NS)

"Oh…oh my….".

Randall had just came over a hill that seemed just like any other. But the problem was, was that there was something behind it. Randall gaped at what he was seeing. It looked like a town. But….it wasn't normal. It didn't look human, that's for sure.

"Jeez….can't help but wonder how the mayor keeps up…" Randall mumbled, hoping over the hill, which was a mistake on his part. His feet went unbalanced and he slid down the side. The hill wasn't smooth, so the dirt and rock scratched at his back as he fell on his face. Onto the ground, his lower body twisting upward, dropping Randall's faithful tail between his eyes.

It was a minute later that his mouth mumbled words that a child shouldn't hear, that his eyes perked open. Twisting the slightly broken bone in his tail to get a better view, Randall saw he was in a lit area. Shifting his eyes up, he saw he was under a pole with a light. But….the light wasn't a bulb….it was pumpkin.

Mumbling, he tried to get to his feet. He pushed his back body backward to get up. "Ow!". He got back on eight. A slight twist of his head showed him he had several cuts on his back. "(Err….WHEN….will I get a break!)" he yelled in thought. He figured that going on all eight was starting to get familiar to him, as he nearly had a broken back when he first came to the Human world. Thinking of that…

He rose a finger to brush his head scar. After a moment, he didn't feel anything, it hadn't opened.

Sighing with relief, he started forward, taking almost shy dog steps. As he walked, the hills to his sides slowly became moldy, but sturdy, stone walls. Randall figured the town was built into the hills.

He stopped when something on the left caught his eye. "Gah!". His fronds shot up as he quadruple side stepped. He calmed down when he noticed it wasn't moving. Seemingly built into the ground by black metal iron, there looked to be Tikis. Like those found in Hawaii. Each one was iron and carved with the zig-zag scary mouth and orb eyes with a tail to each respected side. Each one had differences, but Randall didn't care.

He took a few steps forward, like a curious kid, and tried to look in it. He growled, no good. Shaking his head, he started forward again, taking a glance back. For a moment, he thought something was inside…..breathing on him.

Though, what Randall didn't know, something WAS inside. And whatever it was, it kept it's eyes on Randall, watching as the unknowing monster looked through the gate of a town it knew so well….until it was brought down.

(NS)

"What in….".

Randall had been peeking through the gate, but all he could see was straight ahead. His body wasn't thin enough, as thin as it was already, to head through a tissue box end size hole. The gate was iron and see-through. Each bar ended in a spike that went into the ground.

Randall backed away from the gate, looking it over. "(Hmm….I don't see anything to raise it….can't climb up it……and…woah!)".

Randall quickly backed up. The gate shook and started to slowly rise with the sounds of scratching chains. It shook side to side before it made it's home over head. The gate was open.

Raising a brow, Randall started to reconsider the proposal of turning back and leaving right now. Then again, the curious nature deep within him drove him on. Taking a few steps in, he stopped almost immediately as his top right hand lifted from the cobble stone ground.

"Oh my….what in…". It was like something out of a nightmare.

It was a circular area, the end bound by an iron rod fence. If you think, the first looked like a keyhole. The gate lead into a de-elevated area with a fountain. There was an elevated area around it, boarded by a smaller fence. Starting from the left. There were pumpkins. Seemingly hand carved pumpkins that showed no signs of aging. There were elevated parts on the stone wall, which seemed to board what the iron fence could not. On top was, yet again, a pumpkin. Going left, there was something Randall had never seen before. Standing on a stone base nearly the same height as Randall on two feet, was an iron carved pumpkin. Randall could not begin to imagine how it was built in such a manner. Going more left, there were two large pumpkins built into the stone wall, larger than any pumpkin he had seen. They were erieely glowing, but there didn't seem to be any candles. Next was another iron pumpkin. Next to that were a few gray style houses, one at the end looked peculiar, might lead into a courtyard. Next was something in the de-elevated area.

"Oh boy…" Randall whispered like a child about to get hit. It was a guillotine a expertly made guillotine. It's blade was up, but luckily, no signs of it being used. Shaking his head, he looked back up to the elevated area. The stone wall boarded another courtyard, lifeless, that also had a smaller gate. This one led to the house that Randall had noticed before. It was thin but tall. It's top left side went up further. The tower. Randall gasped as he saw it. There was a light on. Someone was there.

He looked back over the scene once more, taking a few steps forward to look with what was on his left. There was a storage roof that looked like a dog house….then….a crystal clear well that had a medieval cage hanging above. Next, looked like the town hall. With it's columns, banner, and clock. The clock was broken. Beyond there was a path that led to another gate, but Randall wasn't concerned about it at the time. Why would he?

Randall started slowly toward the thin building with the tower's light, gulping and feeling fear within him. Randall knew he was brave, braver than most, but with everything he had been through and knowing nothing about this place, he couldn't help but be fearful of the unknown.

As he walked, he looked back at the fountain in the center. The fountain had green almost emerald water, like his own eyes. The fountain circled around what was leaning over it's end. It…looked like a serpent. It's tail ended within a stand, coming up forming a half moon shaped body. It's body had slits, like scales. Near the end of it's tail, there seemed to be another one. Near behind it's head were short, really short wings. It's hands were three fingered, digging into it's neck. It's face was oval with sharp teeth, black hollow eyes and horns, like it was choking. Randall thought for that moment….it almost looked like him.

He stopped at the gate of the tower-like building, giving a gulp. "Ok ok….well…I…I can do this…just….focus…just focus…". He stayed there for a moment, trying to gather the courage scattered about him….

But the feeling that he was surrounded was starting to grow……

Battered and having his heart racing, will Randall be able to get through this? Well maybe and maybe not. And who was this creature watching Randall? No…it wasn't an inhabitant of the town….but merely one that wants to get back….

Till next chapter!