A What Now? A Nightmare X Reader Story

Chapter 19: To Protect and To Recall

"It started, well, it really started a long time before the real threat had appeared. Cole and I had been looking for ways to protect you for a while before that. You were always being picked on, and beat up by, the townspeople. That was really the biggest reason, see. You'd been nearly killed multiple times in the past."

He sighed.

"If I'm being honest, the Shadowman was really just an excuse. We needed... we wanted a bigger reason to send you to safety. In hindsight that was ridiculous, we should have just all left long before any of this happened. But we were too afraid."

"So, the way it went was, all of these strange things started happening. It wasn't all at once, it was gradual. The things started out small. Little inconveniences. As time went on, however, things got worse. People died. And, these fools, these foolish little townspeople, they blamed you, (YN). They blamed it all on you, with no evidence, even when there was no way you could have possibly done these things."

He looked at me with pained eyes.

"That was when we started making the preparations to send you away. But then the Shadowman started appearing. He had a dark aura, and this aura did strange things to the people who were exposed to it. And it.. it had a much stronger effect on you, (Y/N). We were not really sure why, but we thought it was because of your already dark nature."

Nightmare tensed slightly at these words, but didn't say anything.

"That was why we sent you away (Y/N), so that you would be safe from the Shadowman, and the townspeople who would hurt you for what he'd done."

"And he kept appearing, and making bad things happen, but eventually, we were able to destroy him."

Kyle was tearing up at this point.

"Unfortunately... Cole didn't make it out of the fight. He was killed. I-I tried to save him, but I couldn't... "

His voice broke.

"Three weeks after he died, this stone appeared. It's been slowly growing since it appeared." He trailed his fingers along the top of it. "You won't remember this, (Y/N), but you told me once that you were both born from stones like this."

He looked at the ground, not bothering to hold back his tears.

"Part of me has been hoping that he might come back in time for me to see him again."

I didn't say anything for a few minutes. What was there to say? I didn't remember any of this, but I knew that Kyle wouldn't lie about something like this.

"Kyle... "

He looked up at me tearfully.

"I'm sorry. I should've been able to protect him."

Kyle shook his head. "No," he said. "You shouldn't have had to."

More silence.

"Hey."

It was Nightmare. His gaze was locked on Kyle, who looked up at him.

"You did what you could. Even though you weren't able to save him, you did save a lot of other people, including (Y/N). I'm sure he would be proud of you." Nightmare didn't react to the others staring at him in shock, but I couldn't help but be offended by it.

Kyle chuckled. "You're right, of course, but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I know." Nightmare said consolingly. "But dwelling on the past won't help you heal, either."

Kyle offered a small smile, at last. "Yeah. Thanks."

Nightmare just shrugged.

I got up and moved over to the stone. Placing my hand on the amber, which was now softly glowing in the dim twilight. The sky had cleared a bit while Kyle had been talking. The stone was warm, and it seemed to resonate at my touch.

After a moment, the warmth from the amber spread up my arm and through my entire body as the world around me faded away. I didn't feel myself lose consciousness, but in some part of my mind I was aware that I had.

Memories flashed through my mind at a blinding speed, I couldn't keep up with the flow. They swept past me and I could only catch glimpses of them.

And then... it stopped.

And I came to...