The following fanfic was concocted as a result of the author (SephZero) watching the Sleepy Hollow Trailer and looking at scary stuff. Second opinion has affirm that there is a possibility of being spooked, while reading this fic. Those of weak heart are advise to skip over this. Author in no way takes responsibility in any action that occurs in this fic.
"Nicholas!"
The young man turned from the window he was staring out of as the door to his room was blown off its hinges. As the smoke cleared, Lina Inverse and Amelia Wil forgot the rest of it Saillune entered the room.
"You are under arrest. By the holy star of Justice I will see that you will pay for your crimes!" Amelia declared, pointing an accusing finger at Nicholas.
"Star of Justice? Oh, what star might that be?" Nicholas inquired pointing to the starry sky outside.
Scratching her head, Amelia muttered, "Well I really don't know which star it is, but - "
"Then how do you know it even exists? It's not good to be a defender of justice and not have any real basis for your crazy assumptions," Nicholas remarked scratching his head.
"But, I don't... I mean... It's not that..." Amelia started to ramble as Lina pulled out a slipper and whacked Amelia upside the head with it.
"Snap out of it. Stop where you are, Mister!" Lina yelled as Nicholas froze from climbing out the window.
"And you think you can stop me?" Nicholas asked as he stepped down and turned to face the two. "I assure you that I've killed over fifty people in this city alone," he smiled as his incisors glinted in the moonlight.
"What!?!? You killed fifty people in this city!"
"That's correct."
"But we only got you down on twelve..." Amelia muttered as Lina and Nicholas went facefaulting to the ground.
"How annoying," Nicholas growled as he stood back up and pushed his shaggy brown hair back. "I guess it won't make any difference if the count goes up by two tonight. I always wanted to kill a Princess," he laughed as his eyes glinted madly.
"What the?" Lina muttered taking a step back.
"Let me ask you something. Ever wonder how come all of my victims were mutilated as they were?" Nicholas smiled. Not even waiting for their answer, he said, "I used my claws!"
Nicohlas started to laugh as his body went through a sort of convulsion. His fingers quickly grew claws as fur started to sprout everywhere. Fangs grew out of his mouth as his ears grew longer and his nose stretched with his mouth into a snout. Finally a tail erupted from the seat of his pants as Lina recognized the creature before them.
"A werewolf!"
"That's correct! Too bad you didn't take precautions in dealing with one!" Nicholas howled as he lunged toward Amelia.
"Look out Amelia!" Lina cried as she knocked the shocked princess aside from the werewolf's attack.
Lina gritted her teeth to bite back the pain as Nicholas clamped his teeth down on her left arm, pinning her to the floor. Blood started to seep into the wood as the werewolf tightened its bite.
"Lina-san!" Amelia cried seeing what had happened. "Flare Arrow!"
Nicholas released his grip as he easily dodged the spell laughing. "Ha, you expect to harm me with such weak magic? I am a Loup-Garu! One of the ancient races of Lycanthrope. Unless you brought some silver, there is no way you can survive," he grinned as he took a step toward Amelia.
"Diggu Bolt!"
Nicholas howled in pain as electricity raced through him, falling to his knee in pain as steam slowly rose from his body. He turned a hate-filled glare at Lina, who had grabbed onto his tail to current the spell through. Pulling his tail out of her hands, he glared at Amelia before turning back toward Lina.
"Too bad, I was hoping to torture you a bit more before I ripped you to shreds, but now I'll be happy just to tear your face off." Nicholas growled as he raised his claw up.
Amelia, too paralyzed with fear by the sheer ferocity of the whole situation, watched helplessly from the side.
"Die-AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGH!!!!" Nicholas screamed as he lurched forward and tumbled down to the ground.
Lina barely managed to scramble out of the way as the werewolf made a rather loud thud as it hit the floor. Gripping her bleeding arm, Lina quickly limped over to Ameila.
"Are you alright?" Lina asked as Amelia nodded. "Wonder what got it?" Lina muttered as she turned to look at the fallen beast. Protruding out of its back were several silver daggers all embedded along the spine.
"Always be prepared for the unexpected and carry a lot of extra weapons on you as well," Zelgadiss lectured as he hopped down from the window sill. Looking over the beast he sighed, "Well looks like I got here just in time. Had to save you girls again."
"Hey, we can take of ourselves." Lina snapped before she cried out in pain.
"Let me see that arm," Amelia offered regaining some of her courage back. "You're lucky he didn't bite through into the bone. Recovery." Amelia casted as Zel examined the body.
"Well I wasn't expecting him to be freaking werecreature." Lina cursed as her face twisted a bit as the flesh healed.
"Well, remember that all werecreatures have a weakness to a particular substance. Most are immune to silver, but not all of them." Zel muttered as he stood up from the now human corpse.
"Thanks, I could have used that info a lot earlier." Lina muttered as she tested her arm a bit. "And where is Gourry?" she asked as said swordsman came running through the door.
"Hey, did I miss anything?" he inquired before Lina introduced him to her fist.
Zel shook his head as he looked out the window. He glared as he spotted a sort of hunched figure gazing at them from across the rooftops. The creature, noticing Zel's stare, quickly scampered off into the shadows.
The star and moonlight barely illuminated the creature's appearence. A gangly blue skinned human with a bat-like snout. Its finger were stretched out like claws and its clothes were filthy with dirt and blood stains. Its bat-like ear twitched around, constantly picking up any sounds that might alert it.
Landing in a nearby empty alley, the creatures moved several boxes aside as it revealed an entrance to the sewers. Leaping down, it quickly placed the cover back on before it waded through the sewer tunnels.
Stopping near a lantern that was hanging off of the wall, it picked it up and continued the journey. The sound of gentle organ playing helped lead it to its destination faster as it picked up the pace.
Traveling deep into the catacombs that existed below the sewers, the creature reached a simple boat that tied to a dock in the underwater canal. Undoing the binding, the creature set the lantern to the stern of the boat as it slowly pushed its way downstream till it reached a door on the other bank. The gentle music echoed in these dark halls.
Picking up the lantern, it opened the door as it entered an exquisitely designed room with the finest of decore. The creature nudged aside some curtains as it found its master sitting before the organ slowly playing a piece. Setting the lantern down, it crept up to its master's side and waited.
The master was dressed in a fine gentleman's suit with a long tail coat. He wore silk white gloves as his fingers danced on the ivory keys. The low brimmed hat he wore with an upper half mask on in addition to a cloth piece underneath to obscure the lower part of his face as well. He finished the last note, as he turned to address his servent.
"Bailey," he said his voice ringing with the songs of the spheres. "The songs that were played tonight by the beloved Carlisa. Such a sweet muse she has become under my teaching, but now I digress. Were you followed?" he asked.
"No master."
"Good, it would become unfortunate if they should discover my lair deep in the catacombs beneath the opera house. I had to kill a few hardy souls that dared to travel through here this morning," the Phantom reflected.
"And their bodies?" Baily inquired.
"Taken to be used for what few parts that can be taken from them. Speaking of parts, what news have you brought me?" the Phantom asked.
"Nicholas has been slain." Baily hissed between his fangs.
Straightening up a bit at the news, the Phantom sighed, "Such was the fate of one who acted so rashy. Finesse was a thing he never quite grasped, through I doubt any werecreature has ever managed to build up any form of patience or clear thinking. So tell me, has his death incriminated us?"
"No master, the authorities place the deaths all squarely on him. They have no clue about us or what happened to some of the parts of the people." Baily stated as the Phantom started another song.
"Good. At least the mongrel has managed to not screw things over anymore. But his death does leave us in the dilemma of where to get the remaining pieces?" the Phantom muttered as he paused his playing.
"Without the remaining pieces the project can't continue. But is it so hard to get those pieces?" Baily muttered.
"True, but we require them nonetheless. How can we gain them without drawing undue attention to ourselves?" the Phantom wondered.
"Perhaps the Morgue?"
"No, I require much fresher pieces than that. I'll require the service of someone else, someone capable of getting what I need," the Phantom remarked as he stood up and walked by Baily. Taking his cloak from the hanger on the wall, he ordered, "Baily, call my dear friend from the eastern realm here. Tell him that I require his aid in procuring a few things."
"Yes, but where are you going?" Baily inquired as he followed his master to the door.
Walking down the steps of the door onto the boat, the Phantom turned and replied, "I must pay a visit to my angel of music and sing her to sleep. Have things preapre in my absence."
"Yes," Baily bowed as the Phantom started to row down the stream.
Meanwhile, quite a distance away from Saillune, the owls hooted as the wind blew through the Eastern Woods. The path were covered with the fallen leaves of the tree, causing anything to trample through to stir up some noise. Trudging his way through the woods was a lone bandit, wrapping the fur he had stolen to himself tightly.
"Blasted Bandit Killer, blew up all my pals and left me half scorched. Now I've been losted in these blasted woods for several days now," he barked as he kicked a few rocks in his way.
The sounds of horsehooves came trampling in the distance.
"I ought to track that punk little kid and her dumb dog swordsman. Then I'll teach them not to mess with us Bandits," he grumbled as mist slowly filtered through the woods.
Leaves were crushed under the horse's shoes as a sword was drawn from its sheath.
"Man, why is this forest getting creepy all of a sudden?" he growled as he looked around at the eyes that peered at him through the trees. The sound of a horse snorting quickly drew his attention as he spun around and his mouth dropped open in shock.
Riding on a tall black horse on top of a nearby ridge, the mist issuing all around, was a figure dressed in a black outfit with a long black cape behind him. Gripped in one hand was a blade coated with blood, on the other, the horse's reins. As for his head, he had none.
"Sweet Mother above us." the bandit croaked as he gasped at the sight.
The figure pulled the reins back, as the horse reared before the being snapped the reins again and the horse went charging down the ridge toward the bandit. The sword was held out to the side in expectation.
Turning around, the bandit quickly ran down the path. Constantly looking back as the horseman quickly closed the difference between the two. As he reached the bandit, he brought his sword down with a sickening cut.
The body of the bandit fell down upon the leaf covered path. Fading horse hoofs could be heard in the distance as the forest return to its usual quietness. Later in the morning, a couple of woodsmen will discover the body. But the head will never be found.
Taken by the Headless Horseman.
Taken back to hell...
Wolves howling at the moon echoed throughout the night as bats flew by, covering some of the stars in their wake.