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Chapter Text

It was Halloween, the most haunted night of the year. Well, not really, because honestly July 23rd had the most ghost sightings and December 8th had the highest record of spirit-related incidents occurring according to Chapel’s records. But Father Nick was fine letting the normies have their silly little superstitions. Either way, it was a night he didn’t want to be spending here , in the cramped basement of the church, eyes going dry staring at a computer and watching hour after hour of shitty ghost vlogs. All the priests in the Eye of Michael had to take shifts reviewing potential “evidence” of hauntings (99% of which was bullshit), but why did Nick’s shift have to be tonight? 

Nick checked his watch as the people on the computer screamed at a temperature spike on their expensive equipment (there was a radiator right next to them that had just turned on. Idiots.). The kids at the orphanage were probably getting back from trick-or-treating right now. Nick wished he could see them in their costumes, happily digging into their candy while Miss Melanie warned them not to eat too much or they’ll get cavities. When he had become a priest, he had hoped to be spending more time taking care of the orphans. But instead, Chapel had seen his potential with sensing ghosts. And thus, he was recruited into the Eye to train as an exorcist.

So now Nick was stuck here, breathing in musty church air and getting bored out of his mind. What a great use of all that exorcist training they had put him through. 

Nick was just zoning out watching dumbasses have a conversation with random radio static when Livio burst in. “Falling asleep, old man?” he joked, jostling Nick’s shoulder. “Get up, we got a case in the Northeast quarter.”

“Finally, some fucking action.” Nick peeled himself out of his chair, walking to a closet and grabbing his ghost hunting supplies. Rosary. Salt grenade. Holy water gun (yes, it was literally just a neon-orange water gun filled with holy water). As much as he hated the tight collar, he threw on his priest robes, finally looking the part of the Eye of Michael’s top ranking exorcist.

“Damn, it almost sounds like you’re happy that there’s a malicious spirit out and about,” Livio laughed, passing him a case file, which Nick immediately crammed into his satchel, unread.

Nick gave his brother a shit-eating grin. “Just happy to be doing God’s work.”

Livio grinned back. “Give that fucker, hell. Or at least, send it there.”

Nick headed out, slinging his Punisher onto the back of his motorcycle. He probably didn’t need it, but damn was it funny seeing the looks on peoples faces when a priest goes cruising by on a bike with a giant cross sticking out the back, god save their souls. Although today being halloween, he mostly just got drunken cheers plus someone in a slutty nun costume blowing him a kiss. 

He headed towards the address Livio had given him, cutting through some backstreets heading to the outskirts of town. And sure enough, there stood the most stereotypical haunted-looking house Nick had ever seen. Looming stone walls. Shuttered windows. Dead trees scattered through the yard. A high fence with an imposing “NO TRESSPASSING” sign hanging out front just above where someone had cut a hole through the fence. Probably some teenagers sneaking in for fun only to regret their decision when they came face-to-face with the angry spirit within. He was sure the case file had all the details. But he was also sure it was long and boring, so he just left it at the bike and approached the house un-worriedly. This wasn’t Nick’s first spook rodeo.

Much to Nick’s chagrin, he wasn’t greeted with blissful silence when he stepped through the cracked front door. He could hear murmuring from down the hall. He figured there would be some thrill-seekers here, it being Halloween after all. Donning his best priest face, he slammed open the door to the room where he heard the talking, shouting a cheery “HELLO!”

The two women inside shrieked, the bigger one nearly dropping the camera she was holding. Nick held in his mocking laughter. The shorter one recovered first, face pinching in anger. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’ve come to bestow blessings upon this cursed ground,” Nick drawled, crossing himself to sell the bit. He felt a chill as he did so. Yep, this spirit was definitely feisty. It would be good to get the bystanders out as soon as possible. “The real question is, what are you doing in here?”

The shorter girls growled, “that’s none of your business,” just as the taller of the two said, “We’re here to hunt ghosts!” They stared each other down for a second, and then the bigger one seemed to win, turning back to Nick with a smile. “Hello! I’m Millie, and this is Meryl, known on the internet as Scare M-squared!”

“We’re professional ghost hunters who vlog about our investigations,” Meryl added, crossing her arms. 

“Huh, I guess they’ll just certify anyone to hunt ghosts these days,” Nick mocked.

Meryl shouted, “I don’t like your tone-” just as Millie asked, “you have to be certified?”

Nick pulled out his badge, presenting it to the fascinated big girl. “Yep. Three years of Seminary with an additional year of exorcism training to earn this bad boy. I take it you girls don’t have yours yet? You don’t strike me as the religious type.”

Meryl snatched the badge, scrutinizing it. “This can’t be an actual thing.”

“It, in fact, is ,” Nick confirmed, yanking it back out of her hands, “the real deal. I was sent here to perform an exorcism because the spirit here has caused too much of a ruckus. This isn’t the place for newbies.”

The big girl gasped. “Gee, Meryl, you were right! This place really is haunted!” And instead of leaving, the two just planted their feet more firmly on the floor, looking at Nick expectantly. 

“Well?” Meryl nagged. “Are you going to join our investigation then?” Millie whipped up her camera, pointing it at Nick’s face excitedly.

“Wha-no- get that thing away from me- I think you’re not understanding something,” Nick griped, patience running thin. “ You two should not be here. Go on, scram.”

“Oh, but Mister Priest, we would so love to learn from you!” Millie pleaded, clasping her hands.

“Absolutely not.”

Meryl rolled her eyes. “Oh please. As if I’m buying all that badge bullshit. We were here first, you can’t make us leave.”

Nick rubbed his eyes. Ghost vloggers really were so annoying. Oh well. It’s not like Nick hasn’t had randos walk in on his exorcisms before. “Ah fuck it- fine!” Meryl dramatically gasped and covered Millie’s ears at the curse word. “Just- take this.” He shoved his holy water gun at Meryl.

“No need, we brought our own,” Meryl said hautily, lifting her jacket to reveal another tiny holy water gun, and Meryl lifted hers to reveal- was that a fucking holy water stungun? They certainly came prepared. Okay, Nick had to hand it to these girls. 

“Do you need help finding the ghost?” Millie offered. “We got a spirit box, an SLS cam, a rem pod-”

“Those items are bullshit,” Nick grumbled, dropping the friendly facade. “Just keep quiet and follow me.” 

He skulked back into the hall, preparing for the ritual by lighting a sage and carelessly wafting it around each floor of the house. The smoke tickled his nose, making him crave a cigarette. So he lit one and smoked it as he went, Meryl making a disgusted face behind him. After scoping out all the rooms, he cleared a space in the central foyer. The house wasn’t too big, so he could reach all the rooms if he just performed the exorcism in here. He scattered some salt in a summoning circle and lit some candles around it, and on a second thought, he drew a small salt circle in the hallway outside, hustling the girls into it.

“You two just be good and stay right here, okay?” He said condescendingly.

‘What? But we can’t see anything from out here!” Meryl protested.

Nick patted her head. “Not my problem. My only job is to keep you two safe. Unless, of course, you wanna fuck off now?”

He managed to snatch his hand away just in time as Meryl bit at it. “No way!”

“Suit yourself.” Nick shrugged, heading back to the foyer. “It shouldn’t take long, but stay there for your own safety. And no matter what, don’t interrupt the exorcism. Or things will go wayyyyyy wrong.”

“Sure thing, Mister Priest!” Millie shouted through the doorway. “Thanks again for letting us watch-er, listen in!”

Finally prepared, Nick stepped to the outskirts of the summoning circle to activate it, clasping his rosary between his hands. “Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”

A breeze instantly shot through the house, putting out a few candles. The spirit was already fighting back. Nick would have to be quick. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done; on Earth as it is in Heaven…”

A creaking started up, groaning in the floorboards beneath his feet. He could hear the girls muttering excitedly in the other room as mist slowly started to gather in the middle of the circle. It was pushing back, charging at him only to run into the confines of the salt barrier. Nick looked at it straight on, not afraid. He had dealt with punks like this before. Like hell he’ll let himself be bested by this one. His voice went up a level, resounding throughout the empty room. “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses- as we forgive those who-”

A surge of malicious energy suddenly hit him, making him struggle to stand on his feet. This fucker- Nick gritted his teeth around his cigarette, trying to fight off the dizziness. Ok. So maybe this ghost was tougher than he was anticipating. He dropped the rosary, drawing his holy water gun as the salt along the edges of the circle slowly started to scatter and the mist started congealing into a humanoid shape, face screwed in pain. Wave after wave of darkness impacted his mind. Fuck, his vision was getting hazy now. If he just spoke faster, if he just finished the prayer-

“AND LEAD US NOT TO TEMPTATION-” he shouted above the now-audible scream of the ghost. “BUT DELIVER US FROM-”

“Wait!”

Through his haze, Nick could see a new figure, blonde and seemingly bathed in light, moving towards him. An angel? he thought deliriously. And then that angel was charging straight into the summoning circle and scattering the rest of the salt.

“Blondie, what the fu-” the mist in the center exploded outward, sending Nick and the intruder flying backwards as the ghost broke free, detached form disappearing off into the night. 

—

He hadn’t realized he passed out, but when Nick came to, he found himself blinking up into pretty blue eyes, his head cradled between gentle palms. “Are you alright?” The angel asked, stroking his face soothingly. Huh those crappy paintings at the Church really don’t do angels justice, this one is way prettier. Wait, get your shit together Nick, that’s not an angel-

He quickly broke himself free, looking accusingly at the attractive stranger. “Nice going, Blondie,” he growled. “You made me drop my cigarette.”

The other blushed, awkwardly backing away from Nick. “Oh, I’m so sorry! It’s just, I could hear that soul crying, and when I got here, you were so far into the exorcism, I was worried it might be gone for good if I didn’t jump in-”

“Wait, wait, wait, slow down,” Nick interrupted, anger spiking. “You’re telling me you knew it was an exorcism? And that you stopped it on purpose?”

The stranger’s face hardened at that, looking at him defiantly. “Yes.”

Nick tossed his head back, all priestly decorum gone. “For fucks sake, dumbass, do you know what you just did? You just set the spirit loose! It’s not confined to the walls of this house anymore!”

“Well I couldn’t just let you send it to hell! It doesn’t deserve that!” The stranger shouted back, just as angrily.

Nick paused, finally taking in his appearance. He was wearing yellow sunglasses, now pushed up into his hair, a flowy red coat that was a touch too dramatic, and dark gloves covered in an array of rings. So he must be a medium, then , Nick surmised. He had heard of some sacreligious groups of ghosts-rights activists, people who thought that ghosts shouldn’t be exiled from the mortal realm and that they could co-exist peacefully. It was fools like that that allowed hauntings and possessions to occur in the first place. Let ghosts in, and the ghosts have free reign to do harm. They weren’t sensible beings anymore. They were just trapped remains of resentment that should be removed as soon as possible. 

“Listen Needle Noggin,” Nick started, earning an annoyed look from the stranger at the nickname. “I don’t know what group you’re a part of or what you’ve been taught about ghosts, but what you just did was very dangerous. You’re lucky the ghost was just set free from the house, but someone could have gotten seriously hurt from releasing so much accumulated resentful energy at once.”

The stranger flinched, his eyes drifting to his gloved left hand for a second. “I- I know that…” And then his face went distant, a sad look in his eyes that almost made Nick feel bad for yelling at him. But he blinked and a fake smile had taken residence on Blondie’s face once again. “Don’t worry, I was drawing the dark energy towards myself, I wouldn’t have let it hurt you.”

“Why you-” Nick was caught between feeling surprised that this rando knew how to do something like that and pissed that the dumbass could’ve gotten himself hurt. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? You still messed up the entire exorcism, and now I need to spend the rest of my night tracking this fucker down.”

“Mister Priest, we heard an explosion, is everything alri- VASH!” Millie had just poked her head into the foyer, and she squealed when she saw the odd medium, charging into the room with Meryl in tow.

“Hey, I told you two to wait in the salt circ- ah forget it.” Nick sulked off to the side to light a new cigarette as the other three hugged each other and giggled in delight as if they hadn’t almost just been blown to smithereens. This was too many idiots for him to deal with in one night. He packed up his things, hoping to slip out and get a head start finding the ghost while they were distracted.

“Now, wait just a minute-” 

Nick choked as a hand grabbed the back of his collar, dragging him back into the commotion. “Blondie, what the hell , let me go!” He struggled against the weirdly firm grip of the stranger, stronger than a normal human arm.

“No!” The stranger replied petulantly. “If you sneak off, you’re just going to try and kill that ghost again, aren’t you?”

“It’s a ghost , idiot, you can’t kill it,” Nick spat. “And yeah, I’m going to exorcize it, because it is causing harm in the mortal world, and sending it to hell is the only thing you can do to protect the living.”

“What if I told you there was another way?” The stranger suddenly interjected. “A way to protect the living and the trapped soul?” At that, Nick stopped struggling, turning to meet Blondie’s eyes. There wasn’t a hint of deception in them. This guy was either delusional, or he was onto something. The stranger smiled, extending a hand. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I’m Vash Savarem, professional spirit medium and soul saver.”

Soul saver? Huh, this guy really does think he’s an angel . Nick gave him a firm handshake, looking at him with suspicion. “Father Nicholas D. Wolfwood, lead exorcist of the Eye of Michael.”

“You may have heard of Vash before!” Millie cut in. “He’s known on the internet as ‘The Stampede!’ He’s appeared in a lot of ghost hunting videos to aid vloggers with their investigations, and he’s been a guest on Meryl and my channel many times!”

“Oh no, not that silly nickname,” Vash chuckled awkwardly.

Nick gave him a mocking smile. “I should’ve known you were one of those vlogging idiots, Needle Noggin.”

“Hey, I don’t like ‘Needle Noggin’ either!”

“Well, I can call you ‘Dumbass’ instead.”

“No way, Father Ghost- Hunting- Man- Guy! Uh…”

“Leave the nicknames to me, Blondie.” 

Now that Millie had mentioned it, Nick thinks he did recognize this guy from some of the videos he was supposed to watch for evidence, or at least the distinctly blonde hair and weird red getup. Curse these ghost hunting vloggers for their shitty camera equipment. Their footage was too crusty to capture the beauty of Vash. Yeah. That must be why Nick didn’t recognize him. Not because he dozed off on most of his video shifts… If he was recalling properly, those videos featuring Vash were some of the few ones he’d seen that had some actual evidence of ghosts. Although every time he  followed those trails to the “haunted” locations, he would find nothing there. At the time, he had figured it was just because the evidence was faked and there was never a ghost there to begin with. But maybe…

“So, Stampede ,” Nick teased, earning him an eye-roll that was cuter than it should be. “When you go on these ‘investigations,’ do you use this ‘other way’ you mentioned to get rid of the ghosts?”

Meryl and Millie’s eyes shot to Vash with curiosity, and the man flinched under the stare. “Well, I don’t really take care of it on camera. I usually go back to the haunted site after the vloggers have left, since cleansing the area of the ghost can sometimes take a while. And can also be a bit… dangerous, like you said.”

Well that explained why Nick couldn’t find anything. As much as he hated to admit it, Blondie’s alternative methods might have some actual merits. Speaking of…

“So not to rush your little reunion-” Nick motioned to the three others, “but there’s a ghost on the loose on one of the biggest party nights of the year. We gonna start tracking down this guy or what?”

“Oh, ‘we’?” Vash said with surprised delight, a little flush appearing on his face. 

Nick could only look away and nod at that cute expression. “Sure, Blondie. Might as well keep you around so you don’t go causing another dark energy burst. I got more equipment back at my bike, so I’ll just grab the EMF reader-”

“Nah, leave it. That’ll take all night,” Vash said confidently. Nick tried not to bristle at the insult to his very high-quality ghost hunting equipment. “I have a faster way to track it. But just-” he looked pleadingly at Nick. “-Promise not to freak out?”

Goddammit, stupid big blue eyes, stupid pretty face , Nick shouted in his head, waving off the blonde. “I’m a highly successful exorcist. I will not ‘freak out.’ Just do your thing, Needle Noggin.”

Vash nodded cheerily back before stepping away from the group and closing his eyes. And then he started to fucking glow.

Nick stumbled back. “Whaaaaa-”

Meryl rounded on him, jamming a finger into his chest. “You said you wouldn’t freak out, jerk!”

“Yes, Mr. Vash gets self-conscious. It would be polite of you not to gawk,” Millie added, soothingly patting Nick’s shoulder.

Nick composed himself, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. “Oh uh… yeah sure.” He looked back at the blonde, now noticing small markings spreading across his skin that seemed to be the source of the glowing. His brow was furrowed, and his pupils seemed to be moving back and forth behind his shut lids, as if searching for something. He’d never seen a medium that was like this before. “You girls aren’t gonna record?”

The girls were aptly watching, cameras respectfully lowered. “Vash asked us to only record when he helps with the investigation part of finding the ghost, not when he’s working a case. Since it would invade the ghost’s privacy,” Meryl explained.

“Oh, sure, the malicious spirit’s ball of resentful energy’s privacy, of course,” Nick griped. Yep, that sounded like some ghost-rights activists bullshit. There was nothing tying ghosts to their former life other than their place of death, they had no ‘privacy’ to invade. 

The minutes ticked by. Nick was just finishing his cigarette and thinking of lighting another, when Vash suddenly gasped, doing a full body shudder. Alarmed, Nick darted forward and threw his arms out to hold Vash upright. Just in case he would fall. No other reason. The markings had faded, but when Vash’s eyes shot open, his pupils still held that eerie glow. “Found him!”

The girls cheered as Vash came back to the present, quickly shaking himself out of Nick’s hold. But not before Nick felt the hard, angled joints of Vash’s left arm. Maybe the gloves were less for looking the part of a medium than to hide… what Nick could only assume was a prosthetic arm. Seeing Vash’s self-concious face as he looked back at Nick, he figured he shouldn’t ask. 

“It didn’t go too far. I can lead the way,” Vash commanded, striding away with certainty. As the squad made their way out of the creepy house, Nick once again wondered if he could really trust Vash to know what he was doing. This could be an entire waste of Nick’s time. Or worse, he could get Nick into some trouble with the Eye over breaking protocol. But then he caught sight of Vash walking away from behind and all thoughts promptly left his head.

—

You stupid fucking cross . Nick found himself cursing out the Punisher on his way to the graveyard. Because he had brought it, there wasn’t space for Vash to ride behind him on the bike, arms wrapped around Nick’s waist and head tucked against his shoulder… No. Instead he was trying not to get hit by the massive van that the rest of them piled into, Meryl’s angry little fists clutching the steering wheel with a vengeance. Whoever gave that woman her license must’ve been coerced at gunpoint.

They arrived at the graveyard just outside of town, climbing out of their respective vehicles. By this time, Vash’s eyes had faded to only a dim glow, passably normal unless you were to make direct eye contact with him. Which only made Nick want to look deeper into those blue eyes, dammit … He followed behind the crew past toilet-paper covered trees and smashed pumpkins left by some halloween pranksters, then on a second thought, he doubled back to grab the Punisher. He had felt the rage of that ghost back at the house. It was better to take it and be safe than be sorry. 

By the time he caught up, the other three were gathered around a gravestone, scanning the surroundings. Nick could sense the familiar presence of the spirit, but no other sign of a haunting outside of the usual weak spirits that just clung to their own graves. 

“No one else in sight?” Vash asked.

“Not a soul. Er, not a living soul,” Meryl assured. 

With the confirmation, Vash nodded, the markings slowly starting to spread on his skin again. “You better step back. Just in case.” 

The girls moved away, but Nick just planted his cross in the ground, flashing Vash a doubtful look. His hand rested on the strap of the Punisher, ready to draw if the dark energy started fighting back against whatever Vash was trying to do. A chill crept across the graveyard, the breeze seemingly drawn towards Vash as his lips started moving with words Wolfwood couldn’t quite hear. Nick tensed at the mist that was slowly starting to form into the shape of a human, too close to Vash for his comfort. But he resisted the urge to draw his weapon when Vash smiled at it. He was laughing and motioning with his arms, almost like he was talking to a neighbor instead of a brainless bundle of resentful energy. But then the smile on his face dropped and the humanoid mist in front of him started trembling, a scream pouring from it and getting louder by the second.

That’s it , Nick thought, quickly unwrapping the Punisher and running in just in time to block Vash. He felt dark energy pound into his cross, the ghost shrieking in pain as it contacted the thrice-blessed steel it was made of. “Blondie, get back! It’s going to-”

“Okay, I think everybody should just take a second to calm down , hahahaha,” Vash interrupted, looking awkwardly between Nick and the ghost. 

“Dammit, Needles, don’t tell me to-”

“It’s still mad about the exorcism attempt earlier,” Vash whispered to him. 

Nick was about to protest, but his words caught in his throat as he saw the glowing markings on Vash’s face up close. The word angel popped into his biblically-inclined mind again, and he crammed it down before he said anything stupid. Instead he whispered back, “so what am I supposed to do about that? It’s a resentful spirit. It’s always mad.”

Vash gave him a disappointed look and elbowed him in the ribs, causing Nick to wheeze at the sharp metal impacting his windpipe. Vash turned back to the ghost. “Don’t worry, sir, my priest friend here is soooo sorry for hurting you earlier! Aren’t you, Wolfwood?”

He looked expectantly back at Nick, and before he could land another lung-crushing elbow jab, Nick cut in with a, “yeah… I’m very sorry for trying to exorcize you?” He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was the number one exorcist in the best ghost-hunting organization in the country, how the hell did he end up apologizing to a ghost?

“And he prooooomises he won’t do it again!” Vash was smiling placatingly at the mist. The mist seemed to hesitate for a minute, and then glow back. Nick felt a drop in the resentful energy. Vash clapped his hands. “Great! Now that we’re all made up, will you let me help you?” 

His hand reached out, touching the gravestone before them. There was a spike of resentful energy again, causing Nick to twitch for his weapon, but the ghost did nothing as Vash leaned in, examining the stone. 

“1992, Isabelle Puppeter…” he read. 

The energy of the mist instantly shifted, growing sadder. Vash stared at the mist, as if listening to its story, a sympathetic expression on his face. Nick could have sworn there were tears lining his glowing eyes. He longed to reach out and brush them away.  Finally, Vash said, “don’t worry,” voice slightly hoarse. “We’ll find her for you. I promise.”

He was silent for another moment, enough to make even Nick lower his head in respect, and then he wiped his face and reached into that flowy coat, pulling out a small doll. “Will you wait in here?” Vash asked. “Just until we figure out where she is?” With a barely-audible whoosh , the mist breezed towards the doll, disappearing. Satisfied, Vash packed it back into his pocket, his markings fading away. 

“So… that’s it?” Nick asked. “You just convince it to go into your little doll and then- what? Cleanse it in holy water? Bury it in blessed salt to keep it from hurting people?”

“No, that would harm the poor thing!” Vash gasped. Nick resisted the urge to object to calling a malicious spirit a ‘poor thing.’ “The doll was just to make him more comfortable. Now,” he snapped his finger dramatically, “we start the case!”

Nick tried not to think about how cute the motion was as Vash waved the girls closer, explaining to them what he had discussed with the ghost. “This soul came to this graveyard in search of a loved one: Isabelle Puppeter.” He motioned to the grave. “He couldn’t find her soul in the afterlife, which is what caused him to remain here, trapped in his sadness, hoping to find her. And as you all can probably sense, her soul is also not here, with her body. So, if we figure out where her soul remains, wherever it may be in the mortal world, we can reunite them, and they should both be able to move on to the afterlife.”

“So that’s your ‘other way’?” Nick finally realized. “Instead of forcing the ghost to hell, you give into its demands.”

Vash nodded. “Spirits remain here due to having unfinished business. It causes their resentment to build up, making them able to lash out at the living. So, if you resolve the source of the resentment…” His face relaxed, taking on a serene smile, the most genuine one Nick had seen all night. “...it will be able to pass on peacefully to the afterlife.”

Nick considered it, taking in all he had learned from Vash tonight. It’s entirely possible that Vash could be bluffing. Mediums spun tales all the time about conversing with ghosts and saving their souls. But Vash didn’t seem to be like other mediums. For one, those eerie markings, the glowing eyes… Vash had some special ability, one that gave him an edge when it came to finding ghosts and calling them forth, that Nick had never seen nor heard of before. And aside from all the spiritual crap, he could see it in Vash’s face. He genuinely wanted to help these ghosts. Not put on a show or tote his ghost hunting success. 

Plus, he was easy on the eyes. Nick decided to humor him a little longer.

“We should start finding information about Isabelle Puppeter. Anything to trace where her soul might be since it isn’t with her grave. And hopefully, if we figure out if any of her loved ones lived in that house, we can learn who the ghost was. That might also be useful, in case her soul stuck around to follow him while he was living.” Vash rambled off his plan, brainstorming out loud.

Meryl and Millie were nodding along, contemplatively. “Got it,” Meryl said. “We’ll check our records for any signs of other resentful ghosts in the area that could be her. In terms of figuring out who this one we met today is, maybe we can hit up the morgue and gather a list of people who’ve died in the house-”

“Ah!” Nick let out an embarrassed noise of revelation. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as three sets of eyes turned to him. “Um… I might already have that information in my case file.” Which I had completely forgot existed until this moment . He was not setting a good example as an exorcist.

Shuffling through Nick’s case files a few minutes later, Meryl let out a triumphant noise, pulling out a sheet of paper and waving it in their faces. “According to the list of on-site deaths, there’s a ‘Leonof Puppeter’ that passed away due to old age in 2015! It’s the same last name as Isabelle, he’s gotta be our ghost!”

“Perfect! Great teamwork everyone!” Vash proclaimed. Nick would have mocked the cheesy line, but the grateful look Vash threw his way made his derision fly out of his head. “Can you girls keep looking into the names we found? I’ll update Nai and see if he’s heard anything from the local spirits, and we can reconvene tomorrow night?”

“Sounds good,” said Meryl, already hopping into the van with Millie, waving the case file at them. “I’ll double check the rest of the names on this list, too, to be safe. See ya!”

“Hold on, that case file is Eye property, you can’t take it-” But Meryl was already barreling away and Nick’s protests were lost to the wind. Christsake. It was the middle of the night, his case file was snatched by a crazy lady, his ghost was in the hands of some kooky medium, and he was supposed to have reported back at the church an hour ago. How the fuck had he let the night slip away like this?

“You alright?” A warm voice interrupted his thoughts. 

Nick turned to see Vash blinking up at him, face gone soft with concern. Oh right. That’s why. 

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” He said gruffly. “ You were the one who kept drawing in the dark energy from the attacks.”

Vash smirked. “Don’t worry, I can handle myself.” And in a smooth movement hotter than it should be, he peeled down the edge of his left glove, revealing a tantalizing sliver of metal underneath the fabric. Nick forced down his unholy thoughts ( for pete’s sake, it was just a glove, calm your horses, Nico ) and observed the material, noticing that it was the same as the steel of his Punisher, albeit smaller and slightly less blessed. In other words: a spirit-repellant prosthetic. He could bitch-slap a ghost to hell if he wanted to.  

“How’d you get your hands- er,- hand on holy metal?” Nick asked, one of the many questions that sprung up. “It’s pricey as fuck.”

“Well it’s worth the costs,” Vash said, pulling on the glove again. “Like I said, I know the danger of this job.” Before Nick could read any more into that statement, Vash’s face took on a meek look. “But what I meant was more… are you alright with- all this? My ‘other’ way?”

So that’s where Vash was worrying about. He had interrupted an exorcism, invited a resentful spirit into a doll, and broken ghost-hunting protocol in multiple other ways tonight. As a priest, Nick should report him immediately to the Eye of Michael so that disciplinary actions could be taken. But as himself… Nick couldn’t pretend he wasn’t curious to see where things would go. The Eye of Michael was all about due process and blind faith. All resentful ghosts were here because they couldn’t get to heaven. Identify a misplaced soul, purge it from this world, send it straight to hell. No questions asked. No investigation beyond what was necessary to enforce power over the dead spirit. It was just a mindless bundle of dark energy that put the living at risk of harm, after all. 

But tonight, Nick had seen evidence that there was more to ghosts than what the Eye claimed. This spirit- Leonof- had somehow communicated with Vash coherently enough to express why he remained. And with Vash’s gentle guidance, it calmed, leaving no one harmed. If what Vash said about his method was true, it would take time and effort to resolve the ghost’s resentment, but they could send him peacefully to the afterlife instead of dooming him to hell. 

Coming to a decision, Nick nodded at Vash. “Yeah. You seem to have the situation under control. I see no reason to report you, for now.” The Eye clearly had lied to him about many things involving ghosts. Maybe they deserved a little lying back. 

“Great! Then here-” Vash said, pulling a business card from one of his many pockets and scribbling something down before shoving it in Nick’s hand. “Text me, and I’ll send you the address to meet up later!” Vash yawned and turned to leave as Nick fumbled the little paper, surprised to have been recruited so easily. “I gotta hit the sack. See you later, Wolfwood!”

As that spikey blonde hair disappeared down the road, Nick glanced at the card. A phone number with a little smiley face next to it. Fuck, that’s cute. Between breaking the Eye’s protocol and the unholy things Vash was doing to his brain, Nick might be in danger of getting kicked from the clergy.

Chapter Text

By the time Nick shamefully rolled into the church’s parking lot, the sky was already brightening with the first streaks of morning light. And Livio was perched outside the back door, smoking a cigarette, and sending Nick a glare so fierce that it made him question if Razlo was fronting today (though Razlo tended not to be active unless Livio was out ghost hunting). “You’re late, Nico. I had to take over the rest of your stupid vlog-watching shift. You better have a good explanation.”

Nick shrugged, thinking about the blonde that had thrown his entire night to shit and hoping his embarrassed flush wasn’t too telling. “Yeah, the ghost was a feisty motherfucker. Made the exorcism take longer than usual.” He tried to shove past his brother into the church, but a large hand clamped down on his shoulder, anchoring him in place. Golden eyes scrutinized his face, and Nick felt himself cracking under the gaze of the kid who’s seen through all his lies over the years. He gulped. “Um… don’t tell Chapel.”

His brother smirked. “Let me guess. If that blush is anything to go by, a twink with pretty eyes may have been part of the delay?”

Nick grunted in annoyance, noogying Livio away. “Shut it, shithead. No one else was involved.”

“Like hell I’ll believe that! You were gone for waaaaaay too many hours to not have been distracted!” Livio laughed, tussling Nick and using those few extra inches of height until he had him in a headlock.

“Quit, dumbass! There’s no-” A slip of paper fell from Nick’s pocket.

 They stared at each other for a moment. And then both dove for the paper, Livio laughing evilly when he snatched it and examined the number and smiley face scrawled on it. “Ha! I knew it! You were out there making the moves on some halloween reveler, weren’t you?” 

“No, that’s not-” Nick started. Then he hesitated because he didn’t really have another explanation. At least not one that the Eye would like.

While he struggled to find words, he saw Livio flip the card, smile slipping off his face as he saw the business logo on the front, which, in big, bold letters, read “Saverem Mediums- follow your heart, save a soul.”

“Nico, don’t tell me you let a medium in on the investiga-”

“Can you please just keep your mouth shut about this?” Nick pleaded, pulling the card out of view of the church’s security camera. 

Livio looked at him doubtfully for a moment. Then, a look passed between them. One of brothers that have been to hell and back, or at least as close as you can in the mortal realm. He nodded. “Ok. Feisty ghost. Long exorcism got it.”

Nick heaved a sigh, finally lighting a cigarette. But then Livio got that shit-eating grin again. “Feisty ghost, long exorcism, and… hot medium?”

“Shut it, loser. I got reports to file.”

—

A short while later, after scribbling down a shitty exorcism report full of holes and trusting that he was high-ranked enough that no one in the Eye would bat an eye (hahaha), Nick stamped a “Case Closed” onto the paper and filed it in a cabinet. The holy part of him burned at committing perjury in a church. But, if Vash’s method really panned out, it would be true soon enough. No harm no foul. 

Nick was tired. He hadn’t had to work a case through the night since he was a rookie just starting at the job. But since the sun was up at this point, he figured he would just grab himself a coffee and get his day started. Maybe stop by the orphanage, since he didn’t get to last night. He changed out of his priest robes and back into his ratty suit, leaving the top few buttons undone as usual, and headed to a nearby coffee shop.

Only to stop in shock at the counter, recognizing a familiar spikey head setting a pot of coffee to brew. “I’ll take your order in one moment- OH!” Vash gasped when he turned to look at the customer who had entered.

“Hey, Blondie, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Nick greeted. 

Vash tore his eyes up from Nick’s chest and let out another “OH” when his eyes finally landed on Nick’s face. “It’s you!” He laughed awkwardly, eyes drifting down before guiltily looking back up. “Um. Good morning?”

Any awkwardness that Nick was feeling disappeared as he took in Vash’s flustered state. Last night, he was mostly politeness and professionalism. It seemed that here, behind a counter instead of in a gravestone, he was less collected. Which only made him cuter. Noticing Vash’s gaze earlier, Nick leaned against the counter in a way he knew made his chest puff out. “You work here? Or are you just wearing that apron as a fashion statement?”

Another dip of Vash’s eyes. Nice. The blonde flushed, skidding over to the register. “Oh right, sorry! What do you want to order?”

“Oh, um, a large americano, thanks. But that’s not what I meant.” Nick raised a brow. “I thought cleansing spirits was a full-time job, especially since your method takes so long. How do you have time to work here?”

“Well, I gotta make money somehow!” Vash said cheerily, ringing up the order and setting to work on the coffee. “We don’t actually get paid for ghost hunting, after all.”

“What? Why?” Nick asked. “There are laws in place for minimum wage of licensed ghost-hunters. If you have a badge, you should be getting at least $200 per case plus $80 by the hour…”

“...”

“You don’t have a badge, do you.”

“...how about a free croissant, on the house?”

Nick accepted his coffee but waved away Vash’s attempted bribery with gritted teeth. Well. At this point he had already decided not to report Vash for last night. In for a penny, I guess. Seeing as there was no line and no one else in the coffee shop so early, he stuck by the counter near Vash. “So Blondie, I don’t mean to be rude, but what was up with the glowing? Is it related to your medium abilities?”

“Oh, haha, it’s nothing,” Vash laughed his question off. “How are you liking your coffee?”

Nick hardened his expression, looking Vash in the eye. “Don’t change the subject. I’m breaking protocol for you, Needle Noggin. I at least deserve an explanation.”

That cheerful facade gradually eased out of Vash’s form, replaced with a more defensive frown. As if on cue, the doorbell chimed, a customer coming in and hustling to the counter. Vash broke away from the stare-down, running off to make that person’s order, but Nick firmly held his spot by the counter. If he caved now, he would only keep letting things slide in the future. When the customer was finally trudging back out of the shop, Vash turned his attention back to Nick. “Ok, I can tell you. But maybe not during my shift?”

Nick nodded. “Sure. When does your shift end?”

“Not for another 3 hours.”

“Got it. I’ll pick you up then, and we can go somewhere more private.” For convenience. Definitely not so that he could finally get Vash to ride on the back of his motorcycle. 

Vash smiled. Maybe not his true smile, but at least not his customer service smile. “Alright, thanks. Are you going to wait here?”

Vash looked hopeful, at least Nick would like to think, but he shook his head. As much as he would love to watch Vash being all cute and flustered while he worked, he should check on the kids. “Nah, gotta stop by the orphanage. See ya, Blondie-”

“Oh, that’s delightful! If you’re going there, take these!” Vash quickly grabbed a box and shoveled a trayful of pumpkin-shaped cookies into it before passing it to Nick.

Nick laughed, trying not to fumble the box that was crammed into his hands. “Jeez, you don’t have to. Those gremlins probably had enough sugar last night from all their halloween candy.”

Vash’s blue eyes bore into Nick’s very seriously. “You can never have enough sugar.” 

Nick gulped. He wasn’t sure if it was from their proximity or from the chill that went down his spine at Vash’s firm statement. 

“Besides,” Vash said, “we were just going to throw them out since the holiday is over. The cookies will be better used going to the kids at the orphanage.” He turned away, getting back to work, and then there- on his face- a smile. A real smile. Small and relaxed and genuine. 

Nick managed to mutter a, “thanks,” and stumble out the door despite the rapid pounding of his heart. Dammit. Not only did Vash like kids, but he also had a gorgeous smile? It’s like the universe made him specifically to corrupt Nick from the Eye of Michael. And maybe Nick was okay with that. 

He only hoped Vash had a good explanation.

—

3 hours later, Nick strode jauntily back into the coffee shop. He had just gotten to hear all about the orphans’ silly halloween stories, and he was about to ride off into the metaphorical midday sunset with Vash. He got there just in time to see Vash walking out of the back room, waving a goodbye to the woman who had taken over the register. 

Nick held the door open, just to see if it would make Vash blush (It did. Score.) and asked, “So, Blondie, where to?”

“Well, if you don’t mind, I was thinking I could just take you back to the Saverem headquarters,” Vash replied nervously. “It might help with some of the explanation.”

Huh. Kooky ghost-rights activist fortress. Why not? Nick shrugged, climbing onto his motorcycle. “Whatever works. Hop on, Needle Noggin.”

He made sure to suavely look ahead, even as his heart did little flips when he felt Vash straddle the bike behind him. Vash hesitated for a moment, and then settled his arms cautiously on Nick’s shoulders. Nick figured it was shyness until he heard Vash say, “just… let me know if it hurts?” 

He squeezed Nick’s shoulder with his left hand and Nick was reminded of the hard steel prosthetic that Vash had been so self-conscious of the night before. He made sure to turn around and give Vash his most comforting smile. “Doesn’t hurt at all, Needle Noggin, just make sure you hold on tight. Where to?”

Vash smiled in return and clung tighter, and Nick took off, following the directions Vash muttered into his ear. He was just grinning to himself and thinking about how great his day was going til they passed the church. Where Livio was once again perched outside, eyes going wide and smirk on his face as he spotted them driving. “BAHAHAHAHAHA-” Nick could hear his laughter even as he sped away as fast as possible. Well shit. As if Livio wasn’t already insufferable enough over just the phone number and smiley face earlier.

He tried not to think about it as they pulled up into the driveway next to a small house, a pretty picket fence covered in flowers wrapping around the perimeter. What the hell kinda medium headquarters was this? But as he and Vash walked to the front door, he could feel it; whorls of resentful energy packed inside the house and leaking out into the yard, muting Nick’s senses and more haunted than any graveyard he’d ever been to.

Not seeming to notice it, Vash unlocked the front door, leading him inside. “Nai, I’m home! And I brought a guest!”

“HOLY MOTHER OF-” Nick’s jaw dropped to the ground as he saw the horrifying mists filling the room from wall to wall, sitting at the kitchen counter, walking up the stairs, whizzing aimlessly around the ceiling. There were even some possessed dolls in the mix. Nick tried not to shriek as a beanie baby went streaming past his head with an angry scream.

“Ok, everybody, calm down! He’s not here to exorcize you!” Vash soothed, skin now fully alight with the markings Nick saw the night before.

“Dammit, Vash, warn me before bringing a guy over…” A new voice chimed in before trailing off, and Nick saw a figure heaped in blankets walking down the stairs, bare feet and half a face eerily similar to Vash’s the only humanoid features poking out from the fabric. Well, not exactly humanoid given that they were covered in those odd markings. While Vash’s glow was almost shy, this guy was gleaming with no holdups, almost making him hard to look at despite the blankets blocking him mostly from sight. The visible half of a mouth curled down in disgust as the one visible glowing eye took Nick’s near-panic attack in. “Oh. It’s just another medium.”

“Not a medium! A priest!” Vash chimed in. Which only made the look on the guy’s face even more disgusted. Nick shook off his panic and stood a little straighter. “Wolfwood, this is Nai, the other brother of Saverem Mediums!”

“Why the hell is there a priest in our living room, Vash?” Nai spat. 

Vash shook his hands in front of him frantically. “Nonono don’t worry! We’re not busted or anything, he’s just helping me with the Puppeter case from last night!”

“We don’t need outside help! A priest will just make things harder!”

“Meryl and Millie are coming over later, too!”

“Stop inviting people here without asking me first!”

“Millie says she’s bringing her vegan brownies!”

“Why you-” One visible hand poked out of the blanket bundle to facepalm the visible half of Nai’s face. “Fine. Whatever. Just don’t let them interrupt me.” And with an overdramatic whoosh of blankets, he strode back up the stairs, leaving Vash and Nick alone. Well, alone aside from the mess of ghosts dispersed through the room.

“Want anything? Water? Coffee?” Vash asked, flitting around the kitchen counter as if he was still working at the coffee shop.

“No, thanks.”  Nick inched into the kitchen around spirits, sitting down on a stool that was mostly mist-free. “What I really want are some answers. First things first- why are there so many resentful spirits in here? This is way above the federally-advised spirit limit. If the church saw this, they’d send a squadron to blast this whole place up with holy water.”

“Eek! There’s no need for that!” Vash nervously exclaimed. “These are just some of the spirits we’re working cases for! We usually host them until their source of resentment is resolved, which can sometimes take a while, what with ‘wanting to see their child get married’ or ‘waiting for the demise of their enemy’ and all. Plus, it’s easier to communicate with them. They’re not dangerous, I swear.” He leaned in close to Nick, markings disappearing for a second. “But Nai and I put a salt barrier around the fence, just to be safe. We don’t want some of the more senile spirits wandering off,” he whispered, as if not wanting to insult the ghosts.

“Oh, uh, sure,” Nick mumbled, the warm brush of Vash’s breath on his ear enough to make him decide that Vash’s answer was good enough. “Next- why are you and your brother-” he waved a hand around Vash’s general form “-covered in all those glowy marks? I’ve never seen a medium do that before.”

“Oh, sorry, I can stop if you prefer,” Vash apologizes, puppy dog eyes looking ashamedly at Nick.

Dammit, there Nick went making Vash get all closed-off again. “No, Needle Noggin, it’s fine, kinda pretty even… uh, just- what is it?”

Vash shyly glowed as he worried the fabric of his gloves. “We’re not exactly sure. When we’re passing into the spirit plane, talking to spirits or looking for their trails or something, it just… happens. Nai theorized that it links us to the portal between our world and theirs, since the light is kind of similar to when a ghost’s resentment is resolved and they pass to the afterlife.”

Nick hadn’t seen any ghosts with that glow before. But he’d only ever seen ghosts being forced to hell, not sent to the afterlife peacefully. He was willing to suspend his disbelief, at least until the Leonof case was complete.  “So how long have you and your brother had this ability?” Nick moved on. “I’ve heard that most mediums are born with their sixth sense but… I’ve never seen mediums quite as powerful as you. Or as… shiny. So why are you different?”

And here, Vash’s expression took on an emptiness that washed away all of the fake cheeriness that Nick had grown used to. He seemed lost, eyes unfocused, brow pinching, mouth opening and shutting as he struggled over what to say, or whether to say it at all. Nick let him take his time, fighting the urge to say no worries, you don’t have to tell me and comfort Vash until that sadness was soothed. Eventually, Vash heaved a sigh, telling his tale. “We were born like normal mediums, just people who were slightly more attuned to spirits than normal. The heightened abilities and the glowing started… after we had tried to summon our dead sister.”

Nick sucked in a breath. Though spiritualism laws were not highly enforced due to the rarity of people who could actually sense spirits, it was considered illegal to summon a resting spirit from the afterlife without being granted permission by the church, which was hardly ever given. It could be extremely dangerous if done wrong. Even deadly.

“We were still kids, too young to know much about ghost rituals. But we stole some of our adoptive mom’s spiritualism books- she’s also a medium. Obviously the books didn’t have explicit instructions on summoning, so we made it up as we went. And, as you probably guessed… something went wrong. Maybe we messed up the circle or the candles or the ritual. Maybe we just didn’t have a strong enough connection with Tesla since she died when we were too young to remember much. All we knew of her were the few pictures the orphanage caretakers had of her and gave to us before Rem adopted us a few years after her death.”

“We only managed to summon her spirit for a second before there was a blast of dark energy. That’s when I lost my arm. Fortunately, Rem found us and managed to close off the rift to the spirit world that we had opened. I don’t remember much, but I know Rem pulled us out of the rift just in time.”

“So, long story short,” Vash wrapped up. “We’re not like other mediums because we’ve been to the other world, even if only for a split second. We think that that’s why we can hear their souls clearer than most.” He shook off his gloom and gave Nick a pleading smile. “So are you going to arrest us?”

Nick didn’t know what to say to that. The alarm bells were blaring in his head over what Vash and his twin had done, urging him to report them and clean his hands of this whole business. But a stronger part of him felt sympathy for two other orphans, just kids trying to ease their sadness in the only way they could think of. A way that had almost cost them their lives. He shuddered at how terrifying that must have been.

“In Him, we have redemption through His blood.” The verse poured from Nick’s lips by memory. Memory from a time before he had gotten involved in all this ghost-hunting and exorcism business. From when he was young, and tired, and dragging himself out from the gutter and through Seminary so he could become someone who could help orphans like himself. “The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7.”

Vash let out a surprised laugh. “A Bible verse?”

“Take it or leave it, Blondie,” Nick grumbled. “Any other exorcist would have thrown you right in jail. You’re lucky you ran into one that is more forgiving.”

“I didn’t realize I was in a confessional,” Vash joked, but his shoulders still sagged in relief all the same.

"God I hate working the confessional booth." Nick smirked back. “Any other sins to confess while we’re here? Since I’m already putting my job at risk for your kooky ass?”

Vash giggled. “None that I can think of. None relating to ghosts , that is.”

Nick’s heart stuttered at the suggestive lilt that he swore he heard in Vash’s voice. But then he saw the blonde stifle a yawn. Which only made him yawn in response. Dammit, maybe he was just hearing things cuz he was tired. The flirting could wait until after he’s had a solid nap and could think straight again. “In that case, I’ll see you later, Blondie. Get some sleep, I’m sure you didn’t get enough between the graveyard and your coffee shop shift.”

Vash laughed, throwing his hands up. “You caught me there!” Nick headed for the front door, glad to finally get out of this resentful spirit cesspool, but before he left, Vash called out to him one more time. “Wolfwood…” Nick steeled himself before looking back at that face, which now held that genuine smile he had seen earlier. “Thanks. For letting things slide.”

They split for the morning, and Nick was finally heading to his and Livio’s shared apartment, dodging questions from said nosy brother, and falling face-first into bed. As he drifted off, the Bible verse echoed in his head, along with how Vash had talked about spirits. We have redemption through His blood . Maybe resentful spirits deserved a shot at forgiveness, too.

—

When Nick returned to the Saverem house later that night, it was with a clearer head and a box of donuts (if Millie was bringing brownies, he felt that he had to contribute something). The nap paid off, because his brain only short-circuited a tiny bit when Vash greeted him at the door with a delighted gasp. “Donuts! These are my favorite!” He snatched the box and immediately fished out a sprinkled one as they headed to the kitchen counter, where Meryl and Millie were waiting.

“Why? Because they have a hole in their head just like you do?” Nick snarked, shoving down the stupid warm feelings that bubbled up at Vash’s cheer. Vash pouted around his mouthful of donut. Which foiled any efforts to not be endeared. Why did the kook have to be so goddamn cute ?

“Okay, now that we’re all assembled,” Meryl started, getting down to business, “I found that Isabelle Puppeter was a toymaker who died from cancer at the age of 37. She had no other family aside from her husband, Leonof, and her parents, who both died over 20 years ago. We couldn’t find the records on any close friends she may have had. So it looks like we only have those three suspects of who our ghost is, and I still think the most likely candidate is Leonof.”

As Meryl spoke, Millie slid Nick a brownie and -wow okay, it really was the best brownie Nick had ever had. He was starting to like this big girl a little more. Plus he couldn’t help but notice the way she looked at Meryl as she spoke. Looks like he wasn’t the only one mooning over another ghost hunter. He just hoped his face was a little more discreet when he looked at Vash.

“What makes you think we can rule out the parents?” Vash asked. “Based on the timeline, either of their resentment could have built up by now enough to have the power levels of our ghost.”

Meryl threw him a knowing look. “True, but just wait til you hear what we found out about Leonof- after his wife died, he lost his job as an engineer and took over her toymaking business. But get this- he went out of business soon after on account of his toys being ‘too creepy.’ And he was fired from every other toy-related job he had. The only place that kept him was a puppet-making company.”

“Ok, that’s weird, but how is that supposed to help us find Isabelle?” Nick cut in.

Meryl threw him a mean look. “I was getting to that, thank you very much.” And here, she dramatically pulled out two pictures, one of a woman, and one of a man holding a puppet that looked eerily similar to her. “This is Isabelle and Leonof Puppeter, both pictures taken shortly before their respective deaths. According to my research, Leonof carried this puppet around with him everywhere he went, even to work, and people have witnessed him speaking to it when no one else was nearby. One HR report even attested to seeing the puppet moving while no one was controlling the strings. So my theory is that the puppet may be hosting her soul.”

Nick thought over that information. “So what you’re saying is that he invited her soul into a puppet? And that’s where she’s been all those years since her death?” Nick thought aloud. Beside him, Vash had a worried furrow in his brow. “Where’s the puppet now?”

“We couldn’t figure out where the puppet is. All his stuff was donated to charity after he died,” Meryl reported grumpily. 

Nick shook his head doubtfully. “If what you’re saying is true, then it’s highly unlikely her spirit would have gone unnoticed enough to lose the puppet. The resentment buildup would be too great not to cause a haunting, and the church would take action. I hate to break it to you, but her spirit may be… down there already.” Nick whispered the last sentence. He didn’t want to just bring up Hell in front of Vash’s deceased house guests. That possessed beanie baby from earlier was still giving him a stink eye.

Meryl’s face dropped as she took in that information. “So… we might already be too late to reunite their souls?”

Nick nodded grimly. “Not unless I send him there too.”

“That might not be the case,” Vash finally spoke up. All through the conversation, he had been distantly silent. But now, he looked determined. “She wouldn’t cause a haunting if her spirit was never resentful in the first place. She could have slipped under the ghost hunting radar.”

“But how could her soul be trapped here if she didn’t have any resentment? She should have just ended up in the afterlife and Leonof would have reunited with her there,” Nick opposed. “It’s not possible for her to suddenly appear in the mortal realm unless…” He met Vash’s eyes, a trace of sadness in them, and it suddenly clicked. “...unless she was forcibly summoned out of the afterlife.” Vash nodded. Nick looked around at all of them. “Huh. Didn’t realize that non-resentful spirits were even a thing.”

Vash threw him a half-hearted smile. “Yeah, I figured they don’t teach you that at church. But believe me, they do exist.”

“Fair enough,” Nick relented. Wouldn’t be the only information the church has kept from him.

Meryl threw her papers in the air, alarming a few nearby mists. “Well so much for being able to trace evidence of hauntings to her soul! How are we supposed to find her now?”

“If your horde of imbeciles is done, I have a breakthrough in the case.”

Everyone at the kitchen counter jolted at the icy voice, turning towards the standing heap of blankets, now bearing two knives to Nick’s horror. When the fuck did the bitchy twin even enter the kitchen? Nai strolled to the fridge, took out some vegetables, and started chopping them on the counter uncomfortably close to Nick’s fingers. 

“Nai!” Vash said cheerily, as if his brother wasn’t currently death glaring the other three people at the counter. “So glad you joined us! Want one of Millie’s brownies?” 

Nai placed down his knife and accepted the treat that Vash passed to him, slowly eating it and maintaining his cold silence as if trying to build up the anticipation. He really was a dramatic motherfucker. 

Losing patience, Nick finally tried, “So Knives- er- Nai… what ‘breakthrough’ are you talking about?”

A knife chopped down on a carrot next to his hand. “Well, priest , while you all were dallying with information about Isabelle’s life , I was searching for information of her death . I’ve been communicating with our spirit networks to see if anyone has found traces of a remaining soul that appeared after 1992, the year she passed.”

A warm breath suddenly hit Nick’s ear. “I tried that too, but Nai is a little better at reaching out to multiple spirits at once,” Vash whispered. “But I’m stronger at merging with the mind of a single spirit. It makes the connection clearer.”

He tried very valiantly to pay attention to Nai’s words. But then he angled his head to glance at Vash and his mind went a bit fuzzy at how close he was. From here, Nick could see a small mole under his left eye. “...Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

A knife slammed down on the table right in front of him, sending him jolting backwards in alarm and tumbling off his stool. “Fucking hell- can you put those things away?” Nick grumbled angrily from the floor. A few mists vibrated, as if laughing at him. And worse, Vash looked like he was holding in a laugh too, but at least he stifled it enough to reach down a hand and help Nick up. 

“I am simply making dinner,” Nai said with a straight face. “Perhaps it’s you who should pay more attention.” 

Yeah, okay, message received. Nick sat back in his stool and motioned for the asshole to continue. At least he wasn’t tempted to look at Vash again since he knew he would just see that childish bastard laughing at him.

“As I was saying- my spirit network managed to find a large number of yet-unidentified souls in the area. I narrowed it down to the souls that potentially have traces to that graveyard her body is buried in.” He looked meaningfully at Vash. “And if your hypothesis is correct that her soul is unresentful, then that narrows it down further to just one.” He finished chopping the last vegetable and cast a haughty look across the counter. “I believe I have located Isabelle Puppeter.”

“Nai, that’s amazing!” Vash exclaimed, making his way to his brother. 

As Millie cheered along, Nick threw a glance at Meryl. “Do you really believe this guy?” he asked under his breath while the twins were distracted. They both had their eyes closed and their palms pressed together, markings shining a bit more strongly along their linked hands. “Uh… also what the fuck are they doing?”

Meryl’s eyes were squinted unpleasantly at Nai, but all the same, she replied, “yes, I believe him. Nai doesn’t really like coming on our show or having an internet presence, but Vash has convinced him to help us track down souls a few times before. His information has been spot-on every time. Right now, Nai is transferring Vash the spirit traces. I didn’t really understand when Vash tried to explain it to us, something about ‘flow,’ but basically Nai is giving him Isabelle’s location now.”

“Ah, right, of course,” Nick mumbled, going along with it cuz why the hell not at this point.

“I know the area,” Vash muttered, as his pupils moved rapidly behind his eyelids. “I think there’s a thrift shop around there that accepts toy donations! That could be the place!” The room went a bit dim as the twins separated, and Vash did that adorable finger-snap again. “Ok, first thing tomorrow, we meet here and head over to the thrift shop to check it out! If it’s not there, we can check other stores around the area!” Everyone gave their affirmation, clearing out from the kitchen.

“Got it,” Meryl said. “In that case, I can look up when the opening hours of the thrift shop are and assemble a better list of the stores in the area-”

“No need for that!” Millie said, throwing an arm around her smaller partner. “Mr. Vash already has Isabelle’s spirit traced. We can just relax!  How about a scary movie night?”

“Ooh, yeah!” Vash exclaimed. “I got a few DVDs we can pick from!”

“Halloween has already passed, why are we watching a scary movie-” Meryl protested even as she let herself be hustled back into the living room by the other two. 

Vash stopped in the doorway, looking back to Wolfwood hopefully. “You’re welcome to join, Wolfwood. If you’re into scary movies?”

Nick paused, feeling a bit awkward. As much as he didn’t want to let those sunshiney eyes down, he felt kind of out of place in this house of ghosts. He was an exorcist, after all. He didn’t have the spirit sense that Vash and Nai did, but he could still tell that his presence was unwanted here. So he shook his head, waving Vash goodbye. “Not tonight, sorry Blondie.” Just as he feared, Vash deflated a bit with a detached smile, and he quickly amended, “but just cuz I got my own brother to get back to. I’m sure that bastard is gonna eat my leftovers if I don’t make it back in time for dinner. But I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Vash perked up a bit again. “Yeah, tomorrow!” and Nick couldn’t quite hold in his grin at the enthusiasm on Vash’s face.

He left the Saverem household with that smile still on his lips as he walked out into the chilly night air, distracted by thoughts of Vash, of the little freckle by his eye, of the cute face he made when eating donuts. Distracted enough that he didn’t notice the icy figure standing by his motorcycle until he had almost run into the other twin.

“Ah, Nai. Fancy meeting you here,” he said in his priest voice, shaking off the chill that went down his spine when he met Nai’s glare. 

Nai wasn’t glowing anymore, but his eyes were still horrifyingly piercing all the same. He stared at Nick for a few seconds before saying, “I don’t like you.”

Nick huffed out an unamused laugh, dropping the friendly facade. “Yeah, I gathered that. Now if you’ll just move I can hop on my bike and be out of your hair-”

“I don’t like any of you being involved in his cases. First it was those pesky ghost vloggers. And now a priest .” His lip curled at the word. “We don’t need you. He was better off when we were working alone.”

“You sound awfully sure of yourself,” Nick snarked back. “Maybe having other people on board with the investigation is more helpful for Vash.” Nevermind that Nick hasn’t really contributed anything to the case so far aside from the case file (which he still needed to get back from Meryl, dammit). 

But Nai just looked down on him with a firm glare. “No it’s not. Not for him.” And before Nick could argue, Nai was in his face, the first traces of anger starting to show. “I know that he told you about our complicated past. About the accident that almost killed us. But do you know why he lost his arm while I came out whole, priest?”

Nick shook his head. He had assumed that it was just from the blast of the rift they opened, but it wouldn’t surprise him if Vash had kept more details from him. He stayed silent, letting Nai continue his rant. 

“It’s because he drew in the dark energy to protect me,” Nai stated, a haunting hint of remorse lining his tone. 

Nick sucked in a breath, remembering the night before. Don’t worry, I was drawing the dark energy towards myself, I wouldn’t have let it hurt you. Hadn’t Vash said that when he interrupted the exorcism? And at the graveyard, he had told the others to stay back, approaching the resentful ghost himself. 

“It was too much for him, and it burned through his arm before Rem managed to close the rift. But he did it anyway. Because Vash is a protector. Having others around that could be put at risk will only make him hurt himself further,” Nai finished, expression returning to that steely coldness.

“Yeah, I gathered that, punk.” Nick shouldered past him, finally reaching his bike. While Nai’s words made something twist in his heart over Vash, he wasn’t about to let some sibling guilt bullshit scare him off. Not when he was Nicholas D. Wolfwood, lead exorcist of the Eye of Michael. He tapped a hand on the Punisher, once again loaded onto the back of his bike, and looked at Nai firmly. “But I’m a protector, too. And I won’t let anything hurt Vash again.”

Nai looked him over, seeming to size him up. “You better mean that,” he growled, and without another word, he was heading back into the house, an unspoken dismissal to the priest.

Nick hmphed to himself. As if he needed Nai to tell him off like that. But all the same, he felt a newfound resolve settle in him. He would hold his own against resentful spirits, for himself and for Vash. And for the girls. And for anyone else Vash might want to protect. He wouldn’t let Vash’s self-sacrificing tendencies bring him harm. He would show Nai that he could be helpful to Vash. He wasn’t promoted to lead exorcist for nothing.  What was all his training for if not to protect the living?

As he kicked off into the night, warmed by fiery determination, he had the sudden feeling of eyes on him. He took a glance back at the house. Just at the gate of the picket fence, at the border of the salt barrier, he could have sworn he saw a shadowy shape staring back at him.

Chapter Text

To no one’s surprise, Vash was a morning person. When Nick pulled up, ghost hunting gear and the Punisher on his bike, Vash happily waved and bounded over, coffee in hand. “Americano, right?” he beamed proudly as he pushed the warm drink into Nick’s hands.

“Um, yeah,” Nick muttered, taking a sip and burning his tongue in an attempt to cover his blush over Vash remembering his drink order. Goddamn it, he wasn’t awake enough to handle all of Vash’s sweetness yet.

“Can we please go already?” Millie cut in. To everyone’s surprise, she was not a morning person. The big girl was bundled up in a trench coat and stifling a yawn. And beside her, Meryl looked even worse, shivering like a chihuahua as she threw them a half-hearted wave and climbed into the van without waiting for a resonse.

Vash just smiled apologetically between them before smirking at Wolfwood. “You cold?” He reached for the Punisher, and before Nick could shout careful it’s heavy! Vash flung all 300lbs of it into the back of Meryl’s van and hopped onto the back of Nick’s motorbike. Nick would have been disturbed by the clang of the expensive metal being yeeted if he wasn’t struck speechless at just how strong Vash was. 

“Huh, not really…” he managed, grateful that Vash couldn’t see his stupid expression from where he was sitting. 

“Well I am,” Vash said, leaning into Nick’s back until he could feel Vash’s body heat, and fuck if Nick was going to disagree with him now.

Nick finished off his coffee, using the burn to clear his head. He nodded towards the house. “The ice prince isn’t coming?”

Vash looked momentarily confused before he made the connection, pouting back at Nick in the rearview mirror. “No, Nai doesn’t really like to participate. And why does my brother get such a nice nickname while I’m stuck with ‘Needle Noggin’?”

Well I could call you angel instead . No, shut up Nico, it’s too early for this . Nick just grumbled, “guess you’re just special,” and took off before Vash could respond. 

They headed to the southern part of the town, where residential homes gave way to more shops and restaurants. Fortunately, not many people were around to see their motley crew roll into a parking spot in front of the thrift store Vash mentioned last night. Nick grabbed the Punisher from the van (which Meryl had half-parked on the curb), and together, they entered the shop. 

Meryl nudged Vash. “Is this the place?”

Vash’s eyes briefly glowed, shaded by his glasses from the store clerk that had perked up at the sound of their entrance. He nodded firmly. “I can sense Isabelle here. Everyone split and look for the puppet from that photo.”

Instantaneously the other three were lost in the shelves, leaving Nick to clumsily stumble after them trying not to hit anything with the Punisher. A bunch of odd tchotchkes were on display that he didn’t want to accidentally destroy. Everything in a thrift shop had a story, after all. It had been a while since he’d been in one. And getting lost in the shelves was giving him a powerful sense of nostalgia to a time when he and Livio were less well-off. A time when he might’ve snuck a few items into his pockets to bring back to his siblings at the orphanage. A time when he accidentally snatched the wrong porcelain doll to gift to Jasmine, causing Razlo to make an appearance and scare off the malicious spirit that had been possessing it. That was the first time that Nick had met Livio’s other alter, he recalled fondly. Also the first time he realized he was sensitive to spirits. Still, he wished it had happened without some angry ghost attacking them. Needless to say, he learned his lesson. So Nick made sure to keep his paws off of merchandise and his senses sharp. 

But his senses still were almost not strong enough to detect Isabelle’s soul when he found it. It was different, the sense of a spirit that didn’t hold any resentment. Subtle. Almost sad. A feeling that one would normally bury and pay no mind to. Not like the darkness that the spirits he was used to exorcizing had. But the energy was still there, making him stop in a musty corner of the thrift shop and scan the shelves until he saw Isabelle.

Huh. He really thought he knew everything as a lead exorcist. But as he picked up the puppet, he made sure to catalog this new spiritual feeling so he could recognize it if he encountered other unresentful spirits in the future. 

“Hey, Blondie! I’ve got her!” Nick shouted as he made his way back to the front of the store. The store clerk looked at him weirdly for his odd choice of words, and he sheepishly shuffled away from her.

“ Isabelle !” Vash whispered excitedly, appearing next to Nick with his eyes discreetly glowing again. 

The breath caught in Nick's throat as he suddenly felt the puppet move in his hands, head angling towards Vash. Yep. This was the right spirit. Vash gingerly took her, muttering comfortingly to her as Nick rushed to pay for the puppet and usher them out of there before the store clerk noticed anything weirder.

By the time the girls caught up to them outside the store, tucked into an alleyway to avoid prying eyes, Vash had his head pressed against the puppet, markings alight. “I see,” Vash said, face scrunched in sympathy. Nick caught a teardrop starting to form at his closed eyes. After a while, Vash nodded. “Don’t worry,” he soothed. “You’ll be free soon.”

As he opened his eyes, the others turned their attention to him. Nick could see him shuffling off that sorrowful expression in place of a smile. “Well?” Meryl asked.

“Our hypothesis was right,” he said. “Leonof summoned her into this puppet after her death. At first, she was happy to be near him again.” That smile flickered with a hint of the sorrow Nick recognized from when Vash had told him of his sister. “But as the years passed, her soul struggled to be in the mortal plane. It’s not very comfortable for unresentful ghosts, after all. And after Leonof died, she had found that she was still trapped here… she’s been so alone…” he trailed off, voice shaking a bit.

Nick tossed a glance at the still-faced puppet. It didn’t seem to look back. All this time trapped in a stagnant vessel… shit. Nick couldn’t even imagine how lonely Isabelle must have been. Shaking off the sadness that had spread to him, he patted Vash on the back. “She won’t be alone for much longer. Right?” 

Pretty blue eyes flashed up to meet his, and Vash seemed to stand a little straighter. “That’s right! Well, exorcist, are you ready to send a ghost to the afterlife?”

He huffed a laugh. “Lead the way, my messy-haired medium.”

Together, they headed away from the more populated part of town, down a trail Vash knew to a discreet clearing in the woods at the border. Here, they would be free of bystanders, just in case Leonof happened to lash out again. Vash gently sent the puppet down against a tree before reaching into his jacket and revealing the doll that held Leonof. Instantly, a rush of wind brushed by Nick’s shoulders, seemingly to follow the mist he saw moving from the doll towards Isabelle. All of a sudden, he felt lighter. The resentful energy had dropped, and now something almost like joy seemed to permeate the space.

“It’s sweet isn’t it?” Nick turned his head to find Vash watching him with a knowing smile on his lips. “The sense of a soul at peace.”

“Yeah,” Nick relented. “I guess it beats the malicious energy of exorcisms.”

Vash perked up in excitement. “So you’re saying that you approve of my ‘other way’?”

“Hold your horses, Blondie,” Nick tried to say sternly, stifling the smile that threatened to rise at Vash's puppy-like expression. “I still haven’t seen the spirits pass to the afterlife.”

Millie hmmed in confusion, her brow furrowing. “Speaking of, isn’t that supposed to have happened by now, Mr. Vash?”

“Normally yes since the resentment is resolved,” Meryl replied for Vash, pondering over the situation, “but I think that they may be held up because Isabelle’s soul was forcibly summoned and trapped in that puppet. She can’t escape.”

“Oh dear!” Millie despaired, looking around at all of them. “Then what are we supposed to do now?”

Nick looked expectantly to Vash at the same time Vash turned to him, an enlightened look on his face. “Wolfwood can exorcize her, of course!”

“Huh?” Nick grunted, flustered. “Wait- wasn’t the whole point of this to not send them to hell?”

“Isabelle isn’t a resentful spirit,” Vash explained. “She is just an ordinary soul that got trapped. So if you exorcize her, it will just send her peacefully to the afterlife, and Leonof can follow.” He beamed. “I knew it was a good idea to bring you along!”

Nick took in the two souls hovering in the clearing. “Well, if you’re sure it will work…” Vash nodded with certainty. Trusting him, Nick pulled out his rosary, hands clasping around it in that familiar way he was used to on ghost hunts. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done’ on earth as it is in heaven…”

As he spoke, the air seemed to shimmer around them. In his periphery, he could see Vash glowing, mouthing a goodbye to the mists. And before him was that same glow, seeming to peel into the atmosphere next to the spirits.

“...but deliver us from evil. Amen.” As he finished the prayer, the air around them went still. He felt an emptiness in his spiritual senses. Good. The two souls were gone. The other three ghost hunters cheered, gathering into a group hug while Nick watched fondly. He was beginning to like this crew. 

“Let’s get drinks! To celebrate a job well done!” Millie proposed. Nick stifled a laugh. She was truly a girl from his own heart.

Meryl freed herself from the hug enough to give Millie an incredulous look. “It’s 9am , Millie. We haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“Breakfast it is, then!” Vash said, slinging his arms around them and urging them back to the vehicles. “I know a great restaurant in the area! We should… Wolfwood, are you coming?”

Blue eyes looked hopefully back at him, and Nick felt himself giving in. It was easier to, now that there weren’t a ton of spirits around judging him like at the Saverem house. Plus, the case was over. He didn’t know how much more time he had to spend with Vash and the girls before they parted ways again. He checked his watch, shrugging. “Sure, why not. I got an hour to kill before church duties.”

Another cheer and a prosthetic arm was slung around his shoulder, dragging him along. Laughing, Nick let himself stumble down the road with his band of ghost-hunting weirdos.

—

Nick left the other three at the breakfast joint Vash had brought them to (sipping mimosas that Millie had ordered for the table while no one was watching, the sneaky witch). “So whaddya think?” Vash had asked him over the meal, stuffing his face with donuts. “You okay with my ‘other way’?”

Nick had just bumped their shoulders, averting his eyes. “Yeah, Blondie. It’s not protocol but… it has its merits. But don’t go interrupting exorcisms again. You’re gonna get caught next time, dumbass.”

Vash just giggled, brushing off Nick’s scolding. “Fine, fine. I’ll only interrupt your exorcisms if our cases ever cross again.”

“Jeez, Needle Noggin,” Nick said, tossing his head back in fake exasperation. “You’re really trying to get me fired aren’t you?”

At that Vash had calmed a little, giving him a look. “I just think your talents could be better used in other ways than just sending ghosts to hell. You proved that today.”

He could hear the criticism in Vash’s voice. Well, not criticism , but suggestion. He was a ghost-rights kind of medium, after all. And more and more, Nick was starting to see his side. Not enough to just give up his high-paying salary and job security, though. “Thanks, Blondie, but I’ll stick with the Eye. Maybe see if I can’t get them to make some protocol changes about how we handle resentful spirits.”

Vash had smiled at that. His real smile. And it stayed on his face all through breakfast until Nick finally split for the day. And maybe Nick had a stupid grin on his face, too, because Livio gave him a look the moment he walked into the church. 

“So things are going well with that medium?” he pried as Nick changed into his priest robes for morning mass.

Nick elbowed him in the shoulder. “Can you not say that word so loud here?”

Livio just put his hands up, chuckling. “I’ll take that as a yes. You’ve been spending a lot of time out of the apartment, Nico. Don’t think I didn’t notice you sneaking out this morning.”

Nick sighed, once again looking around to make sure no one else was present. “It was for a case,” he whispered. “Don’t need to give you all the gritty details. But the point is, it’s settled now. Probably won’t be seeing him again. There’s no reason to.” 

“So? You have his number, don’t you?” Livio said teasingly. “Just shoot him a text. I’m sure he’ll be happy to go out. He seemed happy enough when he was cuddling you on your bike the other day.”

Nick sent him his fiercest glare. “You’re a pest, you know that?”

All the same, Nick considered it as they did morning services and took care of some office work for the day, staying late after Livio to make sure the Puppeter case was buried in the church records. Ok, so yeah, maybe he already missed being around Vash. His presence was like daylight, reaching every corner of a room he was in so that Nick had to notice him. Shit. Only a few days and Nick already felt his absence. 

A text couldn’t hurt , he thought as he headed home that evening, parking down the block from his apartment. After all, they seemed to get along well enough, after the rocky start. Even flirted a little (although it’s entirely possible Nick was just reading things all wrong given that his brain had short circuited every time he looked into those pretty blue eyes). Maybe it would be fine to just ask him out for coffee? Wait, no, they had just seen each other that morning. He would look desperate. He could wait a few days to text? Or maybe just a message asking if he was okay would work… just cuz the case had been so crazy and all.

As he pathetically sat on his bike and stared at his phone like he was in some corny teen romance flick, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He could have sworn he felt eyes on him. Just like last night, at the Saverem house. Like he was being watched. Observed. Nick shivered as he slowly peeled his head up from his phone and glanced around. Just some leaves scattering down the sidewalk and the misshapen shadows cast by the setting sun. No one else was on the block with him. No one living at least. 

Heightening his senses, Nick felt out for any ghostly energy. He couldn’t sense any resentment. Only a trace of…sadness. Like the energy he had felt from Isabelle Puppeter. Barely noticeable but seeping into his mind like a passing emotion. So. He was being watched.

Nick started walking, away from his bike and towards the apartment, that chill sticking with him. A soft breeze brushed past his cheek, swirling the slight mist that had fallen from the autumn humidity. His fingers itched for the vial of holy water he kept on him in case of emergencies, but he resisted the urge to pull it out. Whatever was there was unresentful. It probably meant no harm. He could take a page out of Vash’s book and let it be for now. 

Even so, his hands were shaking as he turned the key to unlock the apartment’s entrance. It’s just an unresentful spirit, it means no harm… he repeated it over and over in his head, stepping into the building and past the tiny line of salt he had drawn at the threshold. He instantly felt a sense of relief wash over him. Taking a glance back out onto the street, he saw the leaves swirl on the sidewalk out front. Swirl around the base of a humanoid shape, fading in and out of sight in the twilight shadows.

Heart pounding, Nick slammed the door shut. 

It’s just an unresentful spirit, it means no harm.

—

Nick didn’t sleep well that night. And to make matters worse, he woke up to a messege from his boss with two simple sentences: Come in early today. I want to have a chat. He dragged himself out of bed and got ready, belatedly realizing that he hadn’t actually managed to text Vash yesterday (but that was probably for the best, anyway). The buttons on his shirt haphazardly done up, he stumbled out of the apartment, muttering a quick “see ya’, Liv,” as he heard his brother start to awaken. He rushed past the threshold of his building and beelined to his bike. 

Too rushed to notice the scattered salt at the doorstep where a clean line once lay.

When he got there, Chapel was waiting for him in the basement, leafing through the Puppeter report. “Have a seat, Nicholas.”

He paused in the doorway at the sight. Shit. “Sure thing,” Nick said, trying to act as natural as possible. He was glad he managed to get that case file back from Meryl and stayed late to straighten up his report. Although, his efforts may have been for naught, based on the look on Chapel’s face. “What is this about?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” Chapel said, finally putting down the papers and angling his wheelchair towards Nick. “Church security has told me they’ve seen you leaving with your Punisher at odd hours. But when I checked the holy weapons sign-out log, you didn’t seem to have recorded those instances.”

Nick smiled placatingly. “Ah, the sign-out log? Must’ve slipped my mind.” Nevermind that he had left the log intentionally blank so he wouldn’t have to explain why he was taking the cross. He didn’t think the church security would rat him out. Nick’s money was on the snitch being Zazie, that jerk. 

“The question still remains of why you had the Punisher, Nicholas.” Chapel shook the report papers in his hand. “According to your report, you closed your last case days ago. So what could you be doing with an extremely rare and precious holy item since then? Unless you lied on your report?”

“Well, that is…” Nick felt himself cracking under the pressure of his former trainer. He could hear Livio laughing in his head. Ha! All this trouble just for some hot medium! “...to impress a guy!”

Chapel froze. Blinked at him. “You… Um… to impress a… guy?”

“Yeah, this really cute partier I met on Halloween on my way back from my exorcism. He really liked the Punisher, thought it was shiny and cool,” Nick rambled on. Though the Church of Michael was tolerant of all sexualities, even promoting itself as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to practice religion, there were still some older members who had a more traditional mindset. Nick trusted that Chapel’s internalized heteronormativity might throw him from this line of questioning. “So I grabbed the Punisher when I met up with him again. Didn’t think about signing it out since I wasn’t ghost-hunting or anything, just flirting. With a man.”

“Ah, that’s… an interesting way of flirting,” Chapel managed to respond.

“What can I say? Us gays are just like that,” Nick continued. “He was happy that the church was willing to hire a queer priest. I told him about how our church was pretty accepting. A lot of churches are getting canceled these days for being homophobic. But it’s a good thing that we’re not like that, right Chapel?”

“Of course, of course,” Chapel stammered. “Our church is allied with pride. But still, Nicholas, you shouldn’t be taking holy weapons- NOT that I’m homophobic or anything- but you shouldn’t use the Punisher for… that. It may have been bestowed to you, but you still have to use it within ghost hunting protocol.”

“Right, of course. I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Nick replied. “But it won’t happen again! I will just use my other charms as a raging queer to flirt.”

Chapel forced a smile. “Great. You do that. That having been said- again, I’m NOT being homophobic- you’re going to have to be suspended from duty while the incident is being investigated.”

Nick deflated a little. “Yeah, I suppose that is protocol.” 

“Alright. Then, you are dismissed from duties for the day, Nicholas,” Chapel finished. “I’ll call you in to report once the investigation is done.”

“Thanks, sir,” Nick grumbled, smiling through his stress. Hopefully the investigation would be over soon. They wouldn’t be able to trace anything back to Vash, right? No, he had made sure to bury any outside involvement in the paperwork…

Disheartened and now with plenty of free time, Nick meandered down the street, finding himself heading towards Vash’s coffee shop. He wondered if the blonde was working today. He could use a pick-me-up. And it would be perfectly normal for him to just stop in and grab a coffee while Vash happened to be working, right?

The door chimed as he entered, and a spikey head excitedly turned to greet him. “Wolfwood! Back again?”

He felt the corners of his lips automatically turn up at the sight of Vash. It seemed that his luck for the day might be turning around. “What can I say? I just run on caffeine, and no one makes americanos like you do, Needle Noggin.”

“It’s just a coffee,” Vash laughed it off, flushing all the same. “Maybe you’re just easy to please.”

“I let you have your way for one case, and now you think I’m easy?” Nick drawled, leaning against the counter as Vash prepared his drink. “Bold , Needle Noggin. Especially coming from someone who got so enamored just because I brought them donuts, of all things.”

Vash shrugged, ducking his head so Nick couldn’t see that cute blush. “I just thought it was sweet of you, is all.” He handed Nick his coffee and rang him up. “Anyways, what are you up to this morning? I thought priests had services at this time? Or is that not a thing that exorcists do?” 

“Normally, yes, that would be part of my duties,” Nick answered. “But I’m on a bit of a suspension cuz of the Puppeter case.”

Vash’s face fell in concern. “Oh no, I’m so sorry! If I got you in trouble-”

“Hey, no worries, Blondie,” Nick cut in with a casual chuckle. “It has nothing to do with you. It was my carelessness. It should blow over in a few days, so you and your brother have nothing to worry about.” Hopefully . “I’m just happy to have a bit of free time.”

“Yeah that’s great!” Vash exclaimed. “You probably don’t catch a break that often, being an exorcist.”

“You could say that again,” Nick chuckled. “So how have you been? Since the case ended and everything. No backlash from any resentful energy?”

“Nope! Me and the girls are all fine!” Vash told him. “There’s not usually any backlash to solving cases this way. That’s one of the benefits!”

“Yeah, that’s pretty good,” Nick relented. Ignoring that the case took way more time and effort than an exorcism would have. But seeing the spirits pass to the afterlife… it was worth it. “It’s still crazy to think that there can be unresentful spirits around. The sense of Isabelle being trapped in that puppet… I haven’t experienced anything like it before.”

Vash had gone silent, going back to his duties straightening up the counter, eyes averted from Nick. “Yeah…there was a sadness to it,” he muttered thoughtfully. Nick took in his distant gaze, his tense posture. Vash’s mind was elsewhere. “Like she never wanted to be summoned back in the first place.”

It dawned on Nick that Vash could be thinking about when he had tried to summon his sister. The overlap between the case and Vash's history was hard to miss. “I’m sure she missed Leonof,” Nick said. “And he was lonely, too. Summoning her back probably seemed like the only solution to him.”

Vash gave him a fake smile. “You’re right. But she was still trapped, all the same.”

“Vash,” Nick started carefully, “about what we talked about the other day… you never did tell me what happened to Tesla’s spirit when you summoned her. After your mother closed the rift.”

Vash paused in his movements, struggling to find the words. Finally, he sighed and looked Nick in the eye. “She stayed. Not trapped to a puppet or anything like that- she can move about freely, and I think she can go back to the afterlife whenever she wants to, though she hasn’t tried. We didn't realize at first because her soul was at the orphanage she died in looking for us, but since we found her there a few years after the summoning, we keep her at the house. But she’s not resentful or anything!” Vash frantically added. “She won’t do any harm, so there’s no need to worry about her hurting someone! Plus, she doesn’t leave home cuz of the salt barrier!”

“Ok, Needle Noggin, I believe you,” Nick assured, and Vash calmed once again. “After all, I’ve learned a lot about unresentful spirits, lately. I trust that she won’t lash out.”

Vash breathed a sigh of relief. “You really are an odd priest.”

“Says the medium with a donut addiction,” Nick teased, rewarded with another adorable Vash pout. “You got anymore cookies to get rid of? They were a hit with the orphans last time, I’m sure they’d love more.”

—

Eventually, Nick tore himself away from Vash and left him to the rest of his shift, taking a box of cookies to go. Of course, the kids at the orphanage went wild over them again when he stopped by. They were getting more and more intrigued by “the cookie man.” Nick wondered if could sneak some of them out for a field trip to visit Vash at work sometime. Or maybe Vash would want to stop by the orphanage and meet the kids…

With nothing else to do for the day, Nick got ahead on chores, cleaning the entire apartment and ordering delivery from Livio’s favorite restaurant. He figured he should do his brother a few favors, especially since Livio would have to pick up the slack for him while Nick was suspended. Speaking of; his phone buzzed with a text from Livio just as the food arrived, saying out on a ghost hunt tn, dont wait up.

So much for trying to get him a nice dinner , Nick thought, putting Livio’s food in the fridge. He ate in silence, the wind whistling against the windows the only sound, reading some old spiritualism textbooks they had lying around from their exorcist training days. Just as he suspected, it said all the same old shit; ghosts are all malicious, exorcize on sight, blah blah blah…

He suddenly noticed a chill in the room. Putting away his leftovers, he headed to the windows and drew the curtains, trying to keep out the brisk autumn air. It didn’t help. He checked to make sure the radiator was set high enough. Yep. But the coldness was still there. 

Heightening his senses, Nick dug through the spare closet, pulling out the bag of ghost hunting tools they kept in the apartment. He was having that eerie feeling that he was being watched again. But that wouldn’t make sense, since ghosts couldn’t get into the apartment due to the salt barrier he put up. However, checking his old-fashioned mercury thermometer, he saw that there was a definite temperature drop. That was the first sign of a haunting…

Staying calm, he walked around the apartment, pausing in each room and feeling for any ghostly traces. He could detect that subtle sadness, that one from the unresentful spirit from yesterday evening. The one that had been following him. Maybe it had gotten inside somehow? The lightbulb above his head flickered. A momentary lapse in power, perhaps. Or another check next to signs of a haunting. Nick still couldn’t detect any resentful energy from the spirit, though. Could unresentful spirits still start a haunt? Nick didn’t know, and he found himself cursing out the church’s spiritualism textbooks for not having that answer in them.

A crash echoed down the hall, making Nick jolt in surprise. His heart thudded as he went to go check it out, feeling a sweep of wind brush past his legs as if urging him on. It’s just an unresentful spirit, it means no harm. At the end of the hall, through the flickering light, Nick could see that the mirror had fallen, a crack going through the center. Objects moving on their own. The third sign of a haunting…

Nick almost screamed as a piercing ring cut through the silence. In a daze, he stumbled back to the dining room towards his phone, taking a cautious glance around before answering it. “Hello?”

“Wolfwood, hi! Sorry if this is a bad time, I’m just- uh- a little stressed-” Vash rambled across the line. 

“Vash, slow down and tell me what’s wrong…” Nick trailed off as the light in the hall he had just been in went out completely. And then blinked back on to reveal a little girl standing there. 

“Well, you know how I told you about Tesla earlier and how she’s still here?” Vash babbled. 

The girl’s eyes shot to Nick, a familiar blue framed by blonde hair hanging across her sickly face.

“The thing is, we must’ve slipped up the salt barrier somehow but… she’s gone!” Vash lamented. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how we lost her, but I’ve been trying to find her and you were the only person I could think of who might be able to help-”

“Blondie,” Nick cut in, just as the temperature plummeted further and his plate and utensils from dinner went crashing off the table. The girl took a step towards him and time seemed to slow down. “I think she’s here.”

Nick didn’t hear what Vash said next. All he could see was the little girl running towards him and then everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Nick groaned as his alarm went off. He pulled himself out of bed and got ready for the day. Noticing his brother hadn’t gotten up yet, he pounded on his bedroom door. “Get up, lazy ass. You’re gonna be late for morning services.” There was some angry murmuring in response. Laughing, he headed down the hall, figuring he would just meet his brother at work. He paused to check his hair in the hall mirror, trying uselessly to brush it down only for it to get messed up in the wind on his ride to the church.

Zain, the backup priest, had parked his car in the back. Huh. So he was in today. Nick would have to ask why when he finds him.

Meaning to do just that, he walked into the back door only to convulse as a searing pain cut through him. He dragged himself over to a chair and plopped down, waiting for the pain to fade. It didn’t. He just sat, sweating, in the chair and wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Maybe sick or something. From the autumn chill. He tried to brush it off, but almost doubled over as soon as he stood up. “Fuck… I need a cigarette.”

He felt better once he was outside, in his usual spot, cigarette between his lips. He let the taste on his tongue comfort him, puffing out smoke and watching it swirl in the crisp morning air. Through the smoke, he made out a familiar red coat walking down the sidewalk. He raised his hand in a salute. “Hey, Needle Noggin.”

Vash stared at him, as if he couldn’t believe Nick was there. “Wolfwood you- what are you doing here?”

He waved his cigarette. “Smoke break. And what brings you to the church?”

“But I thought you weren’t-... nevermind,” Vash stuttered. He marched up to Nick, an oddly fierce look on his face. “I’ve been looking for you. What happened last night? You just hung up, and you didn’t even-”

“Woah, hold on, Blondie, what are you talking about?” Nick cut in. He searched his memory of last night, recalling Vash’s frantic voice, rambling about something…

“You just said ‘she’s here!’” Vash insisted, tears slightly welling in his eyes. “You said it, and you left, you didn’t even explain- what did you mean by that?” 

Nick’s breath caught in surprise at Vash’s raised voice. A flickering light. The plate crashing to the floor. Disoriented, Nick took a step back, away from Vash. “I- I don’t-”

Vash reached for him, grabbing for his shoulders to keep him from running. “Wolfwood, please, you have to tell me-”

Nick suddenly gasped in pain as Vash’s left arm made contact with him. It was like the searing sensation he felt in the church, only ten times stronger. The pain clearing his head, he saw the drop on his thermometer, the cracked mirror, the little girl standing in his hall- charging at him-

“...-olfwood! Wolfwood, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” 

Nick became aware of Vash’s worried face hovering over him. At some point, he had fallen to his knees from the pain. He took a shaky breath, forcing himself to think back. Yes. Vash had called last night. He called about his sister. Just as he had been checking his apartment for a haunting. He remembered the little girl’s appearance, more defined than the typical resentful spirit he was used to. He remembered her sad energy. 

“Yeah, no worries, Needles, I’m fine…” He urged himself back to his feet, and Vash backed away to give him space, arms now pressed tensely against his sides. “...at least, I think I’m fine? Something- your sister, maybe- was in my apartment last night.”

Vash gasped, something between relief and disbelief. “What? Why would she-”

“Let’s not talk here,” Nick muttered, dragging Vash away (carefully by the right arm) from the church security cams and back to his bike. “I’ll tell you all the details once we’re away from any unwanted listeners.” His memory was spotty, but he at least was clear-headed enough to remember that he was under investigation right now and didn’t have to report for church duties. 

They got onto Nick’s bike, and Nick winced in conditioned fear as he felt Vash’s arms reach around him. Vash drew in a breath. “Sorry.” He carefully lay just his right arm on Nick’s shoulder to hold on. “...it’s just the holy-metal prosthetic, isn’t it?”

There was a tone to his voice. Like he was coming to the same conclusion Nick was beginning to arrive at. He smiled back at Vash, but it came out as more of a grimace. “Just hold on tight with the right hand. I’ll drive slowly.”

He took them back to the Saverem house without a second thought. Nai should probably be present for the discussion. As they rode, he thought back to the events of last night, starting to remember the details. Starting to match them on to cases he’s dealt with in the past. Cases of…

The ghosts were hectic, whizzing about as if sensing the fear when Vash and Nick entered the door. Almost immediately, Nai was pounding down the stairs, an enraged look on his face as he beelined right for Nick. “You. Priest. What the fuck did you to to our sister?”

Nick felt his head bang against the door as Nai shoved him harshly backwards, and then he cried out in more pain when a scathing knife was pressed to his throat. “Jesus fucking christ-”

“Nai, calm down!” Vash yelled, tugging his brother away with his inhuman strength. Nick gasped and fell to the floor as that knife left his skin, leaving an ugly burn in its wake. How the hell had that icy freak managed to get his hands on a thrice-blessed knife? You had to have a license to have a holy weapon like that- whatever. Not important right now. 

“I don’t think he did anything. His memory is faded, Nai,” Vash explained. “He wanted to tell us the details.”

“Faded memory?” Nai repeated, anger slightly relenting in place of confusion. “Isn’t that a sign of-”

“Possession.” Nick finished the sentence for him. 

The three stilled in a stunned silence. Feeling the need to state his case, Nick stammered, “I- I saw her last night. I think she’s been following me for a while. There were typical signs of a haunting, flickering lights and poltergeist activity and such, and then the last thing I remember was her running towards me. And then I was just… cold.” Reports from people who have suffered a possession often included them seeing their possessor moving towards them. They also reported memory loss and difficulty hearing religious passages or being on sacred ground. Nick wasn’t sure at first, but after feeling the burn of Vash’s and Nai’s blessed tools, he was certain that a spirit was inside his body. 

“Tesla?...” Nai’s glowing eyes bore into Nick’s, carrying a softness that he hadn’t shown before now. He crept closer, thankfully lowering his knife. “Why… why would you want to possess him? ” 

Nick would have thrown a snarky comment back at Nai’s implied insult, but one blip in his memory later, he found himself crushing Nai in a bear hug instead. He cringed, trying to pull away but finding his limbs uncooperative. “Ew, what the hell?”

Nai squirmed in his arms, sputtering angrily and pushing uselessly against his chest. “PRIEST IF YOU DO NOT GET OFF ME THIS INSTANT I WILL-”

“Brother!”

The voice came from Nick’s mouth but was not his own. He felt his lips turn forcibly upward, and he hugged Nai tighter, squishing his face into his neck. No, God, no, please no- Fucking hell, now he knew what Nai smelled like (pine and aloe. Of course he used fancy cologne). That was way more than he wanted to know about the bitchy shithead.

Nai had stopped struggling, and Nick could feel him taking a shaky breath. “...sister?”

The voice came again. “I can finally hug you now!”

“Ah,- of course…” Nai’s arms awkwardly wrapped around Nick, as if he was out of practice with physical contact. 

“...Tesla?” Nick turned to where he had heard Vash, his voice cracking as he said the name. There were tears in his glowing eyes, a shy smile blooming on his face.

“Blondie…” Nick said softly, touched by the warmth on Vash’s face. A second later, and his feet were carrying him towards Vash and his arms were wrapping around that red coat. Not of his own volition, of course. But, Nick couldn’t say he minded when Vash laughed joyously in his ear and returned the hug to his sister. 

This was a precious moment for the siblings. With a last chuckle, he tuned out, letting his memory fade and allowing Tesla to take over. She wasn’t a resentful spirit, after all. He could trust her with his body for a bit. She wouldn’t lash out. 

—

When he came to, he found himself sitting on the ground, criss-cross applesauce, with dolls scattered around him. Vash was crouched across from him, tilting the beanie baby, who was surprisingly cooperative today, so that it looked like he was drinking from a cup. A fucking tea party.

And behind Vash, he could see Nai snapping pictures of them on his phone, his lips slightly upturned in a devious smile.

Nick backed away from the dolls, fixing his posture into something less child-like. “Knives, you better delete those!”

Vash suddenly looked at him, his face melting in relief. “Wolfwood! You’re back! Are you alright?” He dropped the dolls uncaringly.

Nick laughed. “Yeah, Needle Noggin, I’m-”

His memory blipped again. 

—

“...give him some time? Please? I just want to talk to him, Tesla.”

“No! Why does he get to play and I don’t?”

“We’re not playing anymore. I just need to talk to him for a minute. I’m sure he’ll let you take over again. Please.”

Nick’s eyes became adjusted, and he saw Vash’s concerned face looking into his. He smiled, a nervous fake smile. “Wolfwood. There you are.”

“What’s up, Blondie?” He stretched, finding himself lying in a bed. When had he gotten there? (was he in Vash’s bed- NOT THE TIME NICO.) “Is everything… okay with your sister?”

“Yeah,” Vash replied. “Thank you, by the way. So much. For allowing her to take over. She-” his voice caught, that strained smile on his face slipping as tears started falling. “She’s been so lonely.”

“Aw, Needles, don’t cry.” Without thinking, Nick reached out to wipe the tears off his face like he did when one of the kids and the orphanage was sad. His brain caught up a second later that maybe this was stepping over the line, but then Vash caught his hand, seemingly grateful for the simple touch.

“Wolfwood, all this time, and I thought she was fine. I thought she was happy here,” Vash confessed, sobbing. “But I can see it now. Being here as a spirit, it hasn’t been enough. She’s watched us grow and could never grow herself. And that time alone at the orphanage, waiting for us to find her like Isabelle in that thrift shop... I thought getting her from there would be enough. But her sadness has built up, Wolfwood, I can sense it so strongly- I didn’t even know an unresentful spirit could be so pent up like this-”

Wolfwood hushed him, soothingly stroking his cheek with his thumb as Vash hiccuped out his sobs. Eventually, he calmed, taking a heavy, burdened breath. He smiled sadly, finally looking back at Nick. “She was trapped here, Wolfwood. Just like Isabelle. But trapped in a way we didn’t realize.”

“That’s okay, Needles, there’s no way you could have known,” Nick comforted. “The extent of her sadness couldn’t be detected. At least, I couldn’t sense it from her before. Not at this high a level. But it’s okay. And now, she’s just happy to finally spend some time with you.”

“Yeah, but this can’t go on,” Vash lamented. “As much as I love Tesla, you can’t live like this. We need to find a way to convince her to leave you-”

Nick could see Vash getting stressed again, and he hurried to sooth him. “Blondie, it’s okay! You don’t have to worry so much, I don’t mind sparing a few minutes to let her take over.”

He meant to be comforting. But the look Vash gave him made his heart drop. “Wolfwood,” Vash murmured in disbelief, “you do realize it’s been two days, right?”

“TWO FUCKING-” Nick sat up too fast, getting caught on blankets and falling to the floor.

“God, I am so sorry!” Vash apologized, helping him up. “I thought you were purposely letting her! She’s been wanting to play nonstop! She hasn’t even rested. I only just convinced her to let Nai get some sleep an hour ago.”

Nick scanned the area, only briefly pausing on the beanbag chair and the cute string lights (yep, he was willing to bet this was Vash’s room) as he searched for his phone. “Jeez, I- I gotta tell Livio, he’ll be worried-”

“Oh, your brother called while you were under,” Vash admitted. “Sorry, your phone wouldn’t stop ringing, but Tesla wasn’t letting you answer it, so I figured you wouldn’t mind if I picked up. It was Livio, he introduced himself as your brother. He seemed to know who I was. I wasn’t sure how much he knew about ghosts and all, so I just told him you were staying over here for a few days so he wouldn’t worry.” He ran to the nightstand, retrieving Nick’s phone from where it had been plugged and handing it to him.

Nick internally groaned. If his stupid brother embarrassed him- He pulled up his messages, reading through a bunch of all caps texts of Livio asking where he was, which was then followed by his last text saying Make sure to use protection ;). He hoped to god that Vash hadn’t read his texts. Livio was in for a hell of a noogie once this whole mess was sorted out. 

Vash fussed nervously with his prosthetic. “So… do you know how to end a possession? Nai and I don’t have much experience with human possessions. Can you… do an exorcism on yourself?”

“Well, yes, but…” Nick thought about it for a moment, racking his brain for a method of how to get rid of the possessor without forcibly sending the spirit to hell. Of course the Eye didn’t teach it. But maybe there was a way- some Bible verse that was less condemning for a ghost than the Lord’s prayer. He could brainstorm with Vash, and maybe they could try some things? “Well, Blondie I think that-”

—

Nick fought for control this time. He could feel Tesla pushing back, trying to force his body into submission. She must’ve not wanted Nick to disclose his theory. Distantly, he could hear Vash reasoning with his sister, begging her to let Nick out again. Alright, kid, he thought firmly in his head. You can play with your brothers later, I’m not letting you take over completely-

And there was suddenly that searing sensation shooting through him, causing his mind to clear. He came to awareness to find an ugly burn mark on his wrist, and in front of him, Vash in tears, quickly pulling his prosthetic away from Nick’s arm. “Wolfwood, I- I’m sorry!” He wailed. “I didn’t want to hurt you- it’s just that she was fighting back, and I was worried she would harm you- using the holy metal was the only thing I could think of-”

Nick forced a calm smile, about to sooth Vash and tell him that it’s okay, when his awareness was suddenly shaken from him again. But he was ready for it this time, forcing himself to stay present and not let Tesla put him under. He could see Vash gasp, saying something he couldn’t quite hear. “Don’t worry,… I’ve… got it,... Blondie,” he managed to get out. 

Vash’s face seemed to soften in relief, but then it quickly switched to an expression of horror. “Tesla, no!” 

Vash hands shot quickly to Nick, and that burn from Vash’s prosthetic hit him again. But he didn’t pull away like last time. “Needles, what-” his words dissolved into a groan of pain. Glancing to where Vash’s hands were, he saw Vash’s hands pressed to Nick’s side, blood seeping from between his fingers. Nick’s blood. He was bleeding. When did he-

Vash dabbed at his wound, frantically pulling a tissue from his nightstand to staunch the bleeding. “Wolfwood I’m so sorry, she- she scratched you! I didn’t realize- I’m so sor-”

“Vash, stop apologizing, I already told you it’s fine ,” Nick said, voice raised in an attempt to snap some sense back into Vash. He grabbed the tissue and held it to himself, breathing in relief as the singe from Vash’s prosthetic finally left him. “We won’t get anything done if you just keep saying sorry. Now tell me, what didn’t you realize?”

Vash choked down his sobs, clearly making an effort to calm himself. Finally, his eyes looked urgently into Nicks’. “Don’t you sense it? Wolfwood, we were wrong. We thought she wouldn’t lash out. After all this time, we thought it was just her sadness that built up. Her loneliness. But Wolfwood, her anger has built up, too. She’s mad, mad that she couldn’t experience everything we got to in life.”

Shit. Shit, shit, shit- Nick hadn’t been able to sense it before, but now he could feel the dark energy that had crowded the atmosphere. Somehow, from staying in the mortal realm too long, Tesla had turned from a resting soul into a resentful spirit.

By this time Nai had stumbled into the room, blankets askew. “Vash, I heard shouting whats- oh.” His markings glowed powerfully, as if alight in alarm. “This room- there’s so much dark energy.” He looked straight at Nick, confused.

Nick watched Vash turn away to explain the situation to his brother. And in the next second, he felt another scratch, this time across his chest. “Jesus Christ…” he pulled more tissues, trying to wipe up the blood through the exhaustion that had taken over. He was losing control. 

—

He next awoke with his head smacking backwards against a hard surface. “Ow, fuck-”

“Wolfwood? Is that you?” Vash’s head whipped backwards around the headrest of his seat looking at Nick. 

They were in a vehicle, swerving and clattering down the roads, with Vash in the passenger seat, sitting next to- yep, Meryl. Of course it was that maniac driving like this. And in the back, squished on either side of Nick, were Millie and Nai. Millie was smiling at him. Nai was surprisingly holding his arm, patching up a wound that wasn’t there before Nick lost consciousness. Actually, there were many new wounds, which he could see with a quick glance down at the bloodstains and bandages lining his body. Well. Tesla had got him good.

“Where are we going?” he asked, stiffly pulling his arm away from Nai, who seemed glad to be rid of it, to finish bandaging the scratch marks there himself. 

“We’re taking you to our mother,” Vash explained. “She’s a really good medium. Not as sensitive, but she’s done a lot of research on spirits of many natures, resentful and unresentful. We figured she might be able to separate Tesla since you’ve been… incapacitated.”

“Vash, sit properly,” Nai snapped as they hit another bump in the road, and Vash’s head almost hit the ceiling. He did as his brother said, while Nai rambled, “and you , little girl, should keep your eyes on the road, there’s no reason we should be hitting this many potholes-”

“People without licenses can’t criticize!” Meryl shouted from the front, angrily turning to glare at Nai only from another car to have to swerve out of their way. With a nervous “eek!’ Meryl’s attention shot back to the road, and she clutched the wheel tightly, driving straighter. “Just be grateful that we made the time to help! You wouldn’t be able to get anywhere if I wasn’t so kindhearted.”

“She was really worried about you when Vash told us the situation,” Millie whispered to Nick. He looked at the big girl while Nai and Meryl bickered. She tossed him a determined expression. “Don’t worry, Mr. Priest, we really are very happy that we could be of help! I swear all of Meryl’s griping comes from a place of care.”

“Alright, Big Girl, I believe you,” Nick replied. He couldn’t help but be warmed at Millie’s genuine sweetness. She really had a way of brightening up a bad situation. “And thanks for being here. It means a lot.”

“Well, well, well, you’ve come a long way from telling us to scram like you did when we met,” Meryl snarked from the front seat. Apparently that pest had overheard. “Gonna apologize for your rudeness?”

“As if,” Nick snapped back jokingly. “I’ll apologize over my dead body!”

“Hey that’s no fair! You can’t say things like that when we are literally watching your flesh get shredded up with new scratch wounds!” Meryl pouted. 

“Hey, hey, no fighting,” Vash cut in. “We’re almost there.”

In the end, Millie roped them into a game of 20 questions to pass the time in the car ride. It felt childish, but it certainly helped Nick stay sane. Despite the joking, the tension simmered in the air around them. Nick couldn’t help but stress that Tesla would take over again. But, at last, they made it to their destination with no further issues.

It wasn’t until they were at the doorstep of a small townhouse and a lovely middle-aged woman with dark hair was opening the door that Nick felt Tesla push back. The woman, who must be Rem, and Vash exchanged a few words as Nick struggled silently against the ghost, and he felt himself being ushered inside.

“Great, now that you’re all here,” the woman said with a smile at Nick. “Hello, my name is Rem Saverem. And you must be Nicholas D. Wolfwood?”

“Yep. Pleasure to meet you miss,” Nick stammered back with the most pleasant smile he could muster. Inside him, he felt rage stewing, boiling up until his control almost slipped. He reached to shake her hand.

“It’s you.”

The voice that was not Nick’s spoke. His head spun as a rush of conflicting emotions crashed inside of him.

“You took them from me!” A vase went crashing to the ground. 

Vash shook his head frantically. “No, Tesla, that’s not what-”

He went quiet as Rem put up a hand for him to stop, looking Nick in the eye. Her eyes weren’t the glowing blue of her sons’, but they were just as piercing, seeming to see through him and to the dark energy inside. “Hello, Tesla. It’s been a while. Will you finally speak to me?”

Nick clenched his teeth as shouting sounded in his head. It’s because of her! Why wasn’t she there for me? My brothers left me for her- left me at that orphanage- why did she only take them and not me- why did she leave me all alone- SHE NEVER SAVED ME-

“Still no? That’s alright, darling.” Rem’s voice cut through the shouting in his head. Nick was vaguely aware of being led to a summoning circle that had been drawn in the middle of what appeared to be the living room. His awareness was going in and out, the force of Tesla’s resentment growing stronger by the second. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Vash flinching nervously as he and Nai drew a quick salt circle the next room over and ushered the girls inside. More items were falling from the shelves, crashing onto the wooden floorboards. “There’s no need to be afraid,” Rem soothed. “We don’t want to hurt you-”

“YOU LEFT ME!”

All of a sudden a loud roaring sounded in the room, like wind- no- a tornado. The girls shrieked as items went flying around the room, a full poltergeist throw. Nick cast his head around the room, momentarily distracted in a search to make sure Vash was okay. “Needle Noggin, where-”

A momentary distraction was all Tesla needed to break free. 

In a rush, Nick felt the dark energy leave his body, and to his horror, he saw a surge of mist transfer straight to Rem, knocking the woman unconscious in a second. He reached out, catching her before she could fall. On one hand, he was glad to have full control of his own limbs again. On the other hand-

“Blondie, get over here, now!” He shouted over the noise. Rem was shaking in his arms, convulsing, limbs thrashing, and he struggled to keep her secure. “Tesla has taken over Rem!”

Rem’s eyes flashed open, the whites wide and enraged, and she let out a scream as a hand caught Nick in the head. Dazed, he fell backwards, releasing her as he saw a flash of red run to him. “Wolfwood! Are you okay?” 

Behind Vash, Nick could see that Nai had taken over with trying to grapple Rem as more items crashed onto the floor around them, disturbing the summoning circle. Shit. “Yeah, I’m fine, just go help your mom-”

Vash gave him one last worried look before nodding and running to join the fray. The two brothers glowed as they spoke urgently to Rem, blinding Nick until he was forced to look away. Nick hastily set himself to fixing the summoning circle, trying to keep a cool head as he heard the brothers’ panicked voices.

“Sister, release this woman! She is not the cause of your despair-”

“Please, Tesla, just let Rem through! She’ll solve this, and then everything can go back to being fine-”

A roar, deep and seemingly comprised of multiple voices, poured from Rem’s mouth. “SHE TOOK YOU FROM ME! SHE TOOK YOU AND LEFT ME ALONE-”

Through the noise, Nick heard the sickening crunch of a limb twisting and snapping. He looked back and saw Rem’s arm hanging loosely from her shoulder. There was blood seeping through her clothes, scratch marks creeping above her neckline. All of a sudden, Vash turned from his collapsed mother, despairingly looking Nick in the eye. “Wolfwood, exorcize her!”

“Blondie, I can’t,” Nick shouted back, his heart breaking at the pure hopelessness on Vash’s face. “Tesla is a resentful spirit now. If I exorcize her, she’ll be sent to hell!”

“She can’t see reason anymore! Just do it!” Nai screamed, tears welling up in his eyes despite his angry expression. He clutched his mother to him, hands uselessly trying to staunch her bleeding. 

Their mother was dying. They were willing to do anything it took to save her. But Nick knew in his heart that Vash didn’t want Tesla to be sent to hell. And if there’s anything he’d learned from working with the kooky medium, it was that there was always another way to save every soul. 

He wracked his brain, anything from his early years in seminary, as he clasped his hands in front of him. It wouldn’t be as strong without his rosary, but it would have to work. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4, the first verse he could think of that mitigated resentment. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Nick held his breath, heightening his senses and feeling for the drop in resentment that he hoped the verse would cause. Before him, Vash stared at him in confusion. He looked back at Vash determinedly. “There’s no need to send anyone to hell, Blondie. Keep talking to her- I’ll try to help her see clearly.” He repeated the verse, stronger this time, and the dark energy dropped slightly.

Vash melted in awe before he turned back to Rem, pressing his forehead to hers. There was a smile on his face. Not genuine, but more hopeful than before. Nick could see him glowing more softly now, and he saw his lips moving with words Nick couldn’t quite hear over the wind noise. Nai joined him, whispering gently, the tear tracks on his face drying as he relented a smile as well.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you,” Nick continued repeating. Gradually, the room stilled, the wind noise getting quieter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vash press a hand onto the summoning circle, a light coming from his fingertips. 

“...thank you for listening to us, Tesla,” he heard Vash say. A tear of light appeared in the air next to them. “Thank you for coming home with us and staying with us and loving us for all those years.”

“You’ve raised us well,” Nai added.

Nick could now see that the brothers had opened a rift to the afterlife. And from Rem’s body, mist poured out, condensing in the shape of that little girl again, eyes wide and scared as she beheld her brothers.

“We’ve kept you here for so long, haven’t we? But we’re grown now. You don’t have to be trapped here with us anymore,” Vash spoke. His real smile now spread across his face as he reached out a glowing hand and caressed his sister’s head. “You can pass, Tesla. Only if you want to.” 

A blinding light filled the room. Nick shut his eyes, finally letting up his prayer. When he opened them again, the girl was gone and the air in the room felt lighter. Nai let out a shaky breath, sinking to the floor. Vash joined him, wrapping his arms around his brother in a quick hug before scooping up his mother, carrying her to the front door. An ambulance siren already sounded outside. One of the girls must have called 911 during all the commotion. Nai stood quickly, grabbing a few things from the house before running after his brother. 

“You should get to the hospital, too,” Meryl said. At some point she and Millie had joined him, watching the brothers care for their unconscious mother. “Some of those cuts are pretty nasty. I’m going to have to scrub bloodstains out of my car seats, thanks to you.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Short Stack,” Nick huffed. But all the same, he did as she said, going out to find a paramedic. There was quite a crowd that had gathered outside, the emergency response team, curious neighbors, and-

Oh. Shit.

“Nicholas,” Chapel droned from where he sat out front on his wheelchair. “Interesting that I find you here.” Beside him Livio was there, too, eyes wide and flashing between Chapel and Nick in an expression that said we're fuuuuuuucked.

“Chapel,” Nick tried for casual. Which might have been a little hard given the scraped up state he was in. “What brings you here?”

“There was a large spike of dark energy coming from this house. I could feel it even at the church,” Chapel said, unamused. “Go and get your injuries treated, Nicholas. After that, I think we are going to have to have another chat. And you better have a good explanation for how a seasoned exorcist like you got possessed . Don’t think I don’t recognize those scratch marks.”

Well so much for trying to spin another lie. Nick sighed, giving up his faked relaxedness. “Right. Of course, sir.” 

Chapel turned to leave, and Nick saw Livio mouth an I’m sorry before following along. Looks like his days with the Eye might be numbered.

But as Nick glanced back at the ambulance where the brothers and Rem went, just in time to see Vash look his way and mouth a sincere thank you before the ambulance doors shut, he couldn’t seem to regret anything.

—

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”

“What is it you wish to confess, my child,” Nick murmured, trying not to let his boredness show through the walls of the confessional box he sat in. He had been doing more shifts at the confessional in the past few weeks. And more paperwork. And more house calls. Just normal priest stuff, really. But after being an exorcist for so long, it was a lot more dull than Nick remembered it being. 

After the Saverem case had been settled, he had lost his status as lead exorcist in the Eye of Michael. Exorcists weren’t supposed to get possessed, after all, and if they do they are supposed to be quick to exorcize themselves of the spirit. It really wasn’t a good look for Nick to have let the ghost remain in him for so long. When Chapel had asked why, he put all the blame on himself, pleading lack of awareness to the spirit’s ministrations. With a few other lies, he managed to keep Vash and Nai’s secret summoning of Tesla all those years ago buried. Even if that meant losing his job. But he didn’t really want to work for an exorcist organization that spread so much misinformation, anyway. It was about time he moved on.

Of course, the Saverem brothers were investigated since they had been at the side of the incident and were related to the resentful spirit, but fortunately the church just wrote them off as dumb ghosts-rights activists and let them off with a fine for getting involved in a possession case without a liscence. Nick was relieved when Livio told him of that. He figured his brother had something to do with fudging the reports to prevent Vash and Nai from being implicated, so he picked up more chores around their apartment that week as thanks.

And so, their final story was: Nick got possessed by Tesla without realizing. While he was unaware, she made him go to the Saverem’s house. They were not certified, so they did not attempt to exorcize him. The ghost transferred to Rem when they had taken Nick to consult their mother, causing the dark energy spike. Once he was released, Nick exorcized the spirit. Case closed.

Of course that left him with an embarrassing dent on his resume and a lot of overtime working as an ordinary priest for the church. It was peaceful. But damn, did he miss the thrill of ghost hunting. Especially with Vash. 

“I’ve come to confess that I’ve wronged another man. Because of me, he lost his job, being forced to work in a confessional booth, which I know he hates doing,” the person on the other side of the booth teased. Nick perked up at the familiar voice. A voice he had found himself missing lately.

He stifled a laugh, pretending to stay serious. “‘Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’ Well, Blondie, how are you going to atone for this sin?”

Vash giggled. Nick felt his heart flutter after not hearing the sound for so long. “I guess I can start with saying, I’m sorry?”

“I already told you, there’s no need to apologize,” Nick responded. “Everything I did, I did because I wanted to. I was already starting to dislike the Eye's ghost hunting protocols. All you did was help me see the faults in them better. And if it means working the confessional booth while I sort things out, so be it.”

“Well, Father, as your word is God’s, I’ll take your word for it,” Vash laughed.

Things lightening up, Nick let himself chuckle in response. “So how are things? For you and Nai? And your mom?”

“We’re all fine, thanks!” Vash responded.” Rem has a broken arm, but her scratches healed up nicely. Me and Nai… well, we’ve been a bit more lonely without Tesla. But I’m still happy. I think she’ll be more comfortable in the afterlife. And we’ll see her there, eventually.”

“You better not be rushing, Needle Noggin. I’m on funeral duty, too, so if you die early it’s gonna be me working overtime,” Nick griped.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Vash snickered. “So what are you doing now?” he asked, some worry seeping into his voice. “Are you just going to work as a normal priest from now on?”

“Nah, I don’t think I’m cut out for this anymore,” Nick grumbled. “I got fired from being an exorcist, but Chapel let me keep my badge as a token of goodwill for all the service I’ve done for the Eye in the past. So I’ll get back into ghost hunting, someday. But it will be on my own terms. Not the Eye’s.”

“That’s brave,” Vash said. “It’s harder finding work when you’re not tied to an elite organization."

“Hey, if you can do it, so can I,” Nick grumbled back. “I’ll figure it out eventually.”

“How eventually?” Vash’s tone held a hint of mystery as he spoke through the confessional wall. Interesting.

Nick hmmed. “There’s no timeline. Why are you curious?”

“Well, if you’re not too busy with your priest duties,” Vash started, a hopeful lilt to his voice, “Meryl’s found some interesting evidence of a haunting at an abandoned warehouse in the Western quarter. I looked into it, but I’ve been having a bit of trouble tracking the spirit down. I was wondering if you would be willing to help out with your exorcist skills?”

“Count me in, Blondie,” Nick said without a second of hesitation. Nothing sounded better than getting the fuck out of this booth and working another case with his favorite kooky medium. “When should we go check it out?”

Vash stammered, perhaps surprised that Nick had responded so fast. “Oh, uh, well Meryl and Millie are parked out front, so we can head over after you finish your shift-”

Before he had finished his sentence, Nick was grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the confessional booth, beelining for the exit. “Well let’s get to it then.”

“But Wolfwood, your shift?” Vash stuttered, stumbling to keep up. 

“Screw the shift, no one else has come in all day. I was gonna leave early anyways,” Nick said. “You have my full attention, Blondie.”

He felt Vash pause behind him, and when he turned around he found him smiling. A soft, beautiful, genuine smile. A smile that hopefully Nick would get to see more of if they worked cases together from now on. Vash snapped his fingers in that cute way of his. “Then let’s get to it!”

The confessional booth was empty. A van of ghost hunting weirdos was swerving out of the church parking lot. And Nick was seated next to Vash, ready to start a new life on his own path.