A What Now? A Nightmare X Reader Story

Chapter 7: Nightmare's Castle

[(Y/N) POV]

I woke up in an unfamiliar room, in unfamiliar clothes, and with a nasty headache to boot. I didn't move for a moment, trying to figure out where I was, until the memories flooded in. I sat up with a gasp, raising my hand to my shoulder where Jessica stabbed me... right before she died...

I looked at myself, the lack of blood and the bandages that were peeking out from the collar of the too-big jumper I was wearing, and I realised. 

Someone had bathed me. 

Someone had, while I was unconcious, undressed me and bathed me... I shuddered at the thought. But it could have been worse. They had dressed me afterward, and my hair was still damp, so it probably wasn't that long ago, so I doubted that anything really bad happened.

Besides, the clothes were comfy, a oversized violet jumper and black shorts, so I couldn't complain too much.

I took a deep breath. In and out. I need to figure out where I am.

I slid the covers off of me. The room I was in was nice; I had been covered by a violet comforter, and the bedframe and sheets were black. The pillows were the same color as the comforter. The room itself had a desk in front of a window, and there was a window seat a few feet to the right of it. The floor was covered in a plush carpet, which was also violet.

I went over to the window seat and looked out, but there was nothing but darkness outside. No way to tell where I was. I was fairly certain that I was not in my AU anymore though.

I thought back, remembering who killed Jessica. It was the oreo guy, one of the guys with Nightmare. Was I at Nightmare's place? Somehow that wouldn't suprise me, and the notion didn't really scare me either. I didn't think Nightmare would hurt me, despite what the Stars and Papy said.

At this thought I left the window seat and headed toward the door. I tried the handle, which turned easily, and I opened the door, peering out into the hallway anxiously. The corridor seemed empty, but as dim as it was, there was no gurantee that it was actually empty.

I decided to take that chance and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind me. As soon as my bare feet touched the cold stone floor, goosebumps raised up on my arms. I shivered, and looked in both directions, trying to decide which way to go.

After a few moments, I settled on going right, and started off, stepping lightly to quiet the pat pat of my footsteps. I reached a turn, and peered around the corner, checking for people before I continued. When I saw no one, I kept going, brushing my fingers against the wall to my left. 

I reached a place where the hall split off in two directions, like a T. I heard voices to the left, and when I looked, lo and behold, it was the two idiots who laughed at me before, plus another guy. This guy had a huge hole in his skull, which was a little concerning. I would have gone over there, but I had a feeling that I wasn't supposed to be wandering around. The three of them were chatting among themselves.

I looked to the right, and saw the figure of a child floating at the end of that hallway. As soon as I looked at them, they turned and met my gaze. When they realised I was looking at them, they blinked in suprise. I gave a little wave, and they looked around before pointing at themself, trying to confirm that I was indeed waving at them. I nodded and waved again, and this time they waved back. They suddenly looked to their left, as if someone called them. When they glanced back at me, I put a finger over my lips. They nodded, before gliding off to their left and dissapearing.

I looked back to my left, and saw the skeletons who were in that corridor had dissapeared. I turned that way and kept going. After another left and a right, I came to another T in the halls. Peering around, the right branch was another corridor, and the left ended in a big door. From what I'd learned from video games, that was either exactly where I wanted to go or the last place I wanted to be, depending on my situation. Which I now realised I had no idea what it was.

"Curious, are we?"

I jumped and spun around, coming face to face with the skeleton that killed Jessica. He laughed at my reaction. He seemed to be in good spirits.

"I bet you think you're real sneaky, huh? I've been following you this whole time."

I huffed and straightened up. "Seriously?" he nodded.

"Yeah. Boss told me to guard the door and make sure you 'didn't wander around getting in trouble'. And you haven't gotten into any trouble, so I've been doing a good job." He seemed very proud of his loophole, and I laughed quietly. He did have a point.

He held out his arm. "Since we're already here, we should take you in to Boss. He's been waiting for you to wake up." He led me to the door, and paused in front of it.

"Sorry about all the blood, by the way," he looked at me sheepishly. "I needed to make sure she didn't kill you."

Under other circumstances, I would have laughed in his face, but I was a little flattered. "It's fine," I told him. "I didn't have to deal with it very long, and those clothes weren't very important anyway."

He smiled, obviously relieved, and opened the door, revealing a large throne room. The ceiling was very high up, and the rafters were visible, which I thought looked pretty cool. The throne was up on a raised platform, but it was empty. Instead, a figure paced back and forth in front of the throne, obviously upset about something and definitely muttering to himself about it.

As soon as the figure heard the door, they turned in our direction. It was Nightmare. I wasn't suprised. 

"I thought I said I didn't want to be bothered!" He bellowed, pissed.

The oreo didn't flinch. Instead, he shrugged. "Well, I figured you'd want to see them when they woke up," he gestured at me. "but I guess I can take them back to your room if that's not the case."

Nightmare was left speechless for a second, before turning away. "Go away, Cross. And close the door behind you." The oreo, who I now knew was called Cross, grinned and winked at me before he left, closing the door on his way out. When he was gone, I crossed my arms (haha) and looked at Nightmare expectantly. When he didn't turn around or speak, I took the initiative.

"So, are you gonna tell me why I'm here, or what?" I could hear the irritation in my voice, and it sounded a bit harsher than I intended. Oops. It did the job thought, and Nightmare turned toward me, scowling,

"Why do I have to tell you anything?" He snapped. I glared at him. "Well why shouldn't you? I feel like I deserve to know why I'm here, at least."

We glared at each other for another minute before I relented. "Besides, I didn't mean to speak so harshly. It's just this headache." Nightmare blinked and relaxed a bit, the scowl dropping off his face. "Yeah, tell me about it."

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"So... nice place you have here." I tried to make sure I didn't sound sarcastic. He looked at me suspiciously. "It really is," I said, gesturing around me. "it's cool; you know, in a bit of a creepy way. Like one of the boss levels in Mario." He chuckled at the reference, and the tension eased a bit.

He teleported over to where I stood, hands in his pockets. He was quiet for a moment, peering at me. Then he said, "Do you really want to know why you're here, (Y/N)?" I nodded, and he gave me a sheepish little smile. "Well, if you find out, be sure to tell me."

I was confounded. Not just by the comment itself, but by how cutely he said it. And that little smile... 

'Am I in shock or something?'

"Umm... (Y/N)?" I startled a little. "Uhh.. sorry. I lost my train of thought..." I blinked a few times, trying to remember what we were talking about. He laughed and shook his head. 

"Here, let me give you the tour." Nightmare offered his arm in an extravagant manner, and he seemed suprised when I took it. I guess he thought I would decline.

"Lead the way, Nootmer!" I giggled at the nickname. He grimaced. "Don't call me that."

I grinned at him as he led me out into the corridor. "All right, Nootnoot!"

He groaned and began the tour.