Crunchybonedaddy x Reader

Chapter 2

Wind rushes around you, tugging at your shirt and forcing you to squeeze your eyes shut. You can't breathe. You stand completely still in the vortex until suddenly the wind stops, leaving you stumbling forward onto the rocky ground. After a moment, you dare to open your eyes and look upwards. Black winged figures swirl around dark spires against a cloudy wine red sky. You can't make out their forms very well, but you're fairly certain they're also horned. You've only ever seen creatures like these in gothic paintings and movies you were too afraid to watch as a kid. Now, they're flying right above your head. You shudder. The spires connect to a huge gothic castle built entirely out of metal. You trail your eyes down the towers. Neither the they nor the main body of the castle have any windows, just a huge, gated door on the front wall. Jason begins walking forward and you gulp involuntarily when you realize whatever Jason is looking for is in there. Once he reaches the door, he lifts up the gate like it doesn't way two tons, then takes the heavy knocker, styled in the form of what looked to be a severely deformed lion, and bangs it against the door four times. It opens, to your horror, seemingly on its own. No demonic doorman waits on the other side to take your hats and coats. He disappears into the belly of the castle, Daniel and Audra following without hesitation. You sigh, and after a moment of reminding yourself you couldn't go back even if you wanted to, you do the same.

You're not sure how long you're walking for. The hallways all look the same, with their tall ceilings and flickering torches casting a dim red light against against your companions' faces, making Jason in particular appear more sinister, if that's even possible. Andrew groans faintly every once in a while. You can't imagine the awful headache he must be feeling. Well, you can, but you really don't want to. After what you're sure must be at least twenty minutes of walking, Jason stops in front of a small oak door. He doesn't bother knocking before waltzing right in.

The room is surprisingly small. Not in the typical sense. It's at least five times larger than your room at home, but it's smaller than you expected from a castle. The ceilings are shorter than those in the hallways, only reaching around twelve feet. They're decorated with long, flowing tapestries detailing what you assume to be a variety of family coat of arms, though not like any you've seen before. A few... people? Sit at a table in the center of the room. They don't look like the creatures flying above the castls, but they also don't quite look human. They're unnaturally pale and thin, and all smell vaguely of rot. They were engaged in conversation before Jason's arrival abruptly cut them off. They all stare at him, a few briefly flicking their eyes over the other party members before looking back to Jason. They're silent, probably waiting for him to make the first move. He doesn't hesitate.

"Flaviac the Fallen?" he asks.

You're unsettled by the slight smile on his face.

A pale, skeletal man with dark sunken eyes raises his head slightly. He stares at Jason a moment longer before speaking.

"Jason the Destroyer." he says.

"I need a favor."

Flaviac the Fallen snorts.

"A favor too many you have already asked of me. I am an old man, and wish to be an even older man come the next millenium, not a pile of dusty bones seated on your mantle."

"Flaviac, I'm offended. I'd totally dust your bones. But enough small talk," his smile widens,"Are you gonna do me a solid, or are you gonna make this whole thing a lot more difficult for yourself?"

"I have no choice."

"No, no, no, Flaviac my friend, you have a choice. Do you want to help me out, or do you want me to relieve you of what little skin you have and then help me out?"

Flaviac sighs. It's the sigh of a resigned old man with too many ghosts plaguing his weary mind. He doesn't even look at Jason when he speaks.

"I will help you."

"You always were a smart one."

"What is needed of me?"

"Nothing too big, just need you to wipe a few minds, implant a few false memories."

Audra nudges Jason in the side. He sighs.

"And I need you to fix whatever's wrong with this one," he gestures to Andrew.

"He has severe brain damage," Audra says.

"Yeah, that."

Flaviac the Fallen looks at Andrew, the only person in the room currently more pitiful than him, and something dark passes across his face. It fades quickly, so quickly you're not sure it wasn't just a brief tick. A curl of the mouth or a twitch of the eye.

"I can take care of that now."

He rises from his seat with an odd amount of grace and approaches Andrew, who is now awake and staring numbly at a tapestry on the other end of the room. Flaviac the Fallen places a bony hand on the top of Andrew's head. Andrew makes a small noise in protest, but no one minds. Flaviac the Fallen begins chanting in a language completely unknown to you. The way the coarse words and dark vowels hit your ears puts you on edge. Andrew's eyes roll into the back of his head as Flaviac the Fallen's chanting quickens. Instead of rising in pitch with the speed, his voice deepens to an inhuman level. Rushing air swarms around the two, creating a miniature whirlwind. You watch in horror as both Andrew and Flaviac the Fallen begin to levitate, rising higher and higher off the ground until they're barely a foot away from the ceiling. Flaviac the Fallen continues chanting, now speaking too quickly to be intelligible, even if you did know the language. You want to curl up into a ball and cover your ears, protect yourself against the sound, but for some reason, you don't want to show any weakness in front of Jason. Just when you think you can't take it anymore, the chanting stops. The whirlwind dissipates and Andrew drops to the floor with a sharp crunching sound. Crunchy bones, you think absently. Flaviac the Fallen floats down gently, his brown robes billowing about him like a makeshift parachute. You look to see the stunned faces of Audra and Daniel, and feel relieved you're not the only who thinks this is the weirdest think they've seen this week. No one moves to check if Andrew's alright. You see his chest rise and fall with each laboring breath he takes. He's lost consciousness again.

"He'll awaken in a few hours time," Flaviac the Fallen says, far too casually.

Jason nods and thanks him. Flaviac the Fallen reluctantly takes his hand when Jason offers it up to shake.

On your way back to the field, you keep your eyes trained on the rough cobblestone ground. You've had enough of whatever this place was for one day. Only once you're safely tucked into the backseat of Andrew's car do you say anything.

"So, what the hell was that?"

"Hell." says Jason.

He's smiling again, and you feel a deep twisting in your gut.