. Nicholas Scratch x Reader .
Prologue | Part One | Part Two | Part Three |
Your first impression of the little Morningstar was not a good one.
The second she laid eyes on Nick, she flew to him in a flurry of questions and scoldings. It wasn’t until after she’d calmed down that she noticed the odd atmosphere, and turned, along with the rest of her coven, to finally rest her gaze on you.
You still had a gentle silver ambience, as if starlight was caressing your body. The humming sound coming from the pulsation of your inner powers faded as you attempted to conceal your aura a bit more effectively. Soon, your presence dimmed and finally revealed your countenance more clearly. Your brows were furrowed and a frown graced your face, but otherwise not a hair of yours was out of place.
“Who are you?” Zelda stepped up and demanded, putting herself between you and the rest of the coven. You couldn’t help the quirk of your lip as you opened your mouth to retort, but then your gaze landed on Nick, who’s arm was still tightly gripped by Sabrina. She almost gave off the impression of a mother keeping her unruly child in check, and you quickly found your face morphing back into a frown.
“I’m no one you know of. If you need identification, just consider me a friend of Nick’s,” you replied curtly, turning your stare back to Zelda. The woman was very domineering, a trait you didn’t necessarily dislike. Her soul gave off powerful pulsations of anxiety, no doubt amplified by the inexplicable disappearance of their Hare Moon. She stared you down for another moment before turning and barking orders for the coven to return home, electing to ignore you for the meantime. This rendered you a bit speechless as you now hadn’t the foggiest idea of what to do next.
An attractive boy with curly hair and dark skin looked you over curiously, before being tugged away by an equally attractive girl sporting silver hair. They dragged along what looked to be a statue and another girl in a state of confusion who was giggling wildly. The trio and statue aroused your curiosity as well, and if you were more bold you might’ve followed them. Instead, you found yourself looking for Nick’s familiar presence in the bustle, his body having moved away from yours at some point.
A few feet away, Sabrina was attempting to herd Nick along with the others, but before she could get him to move, he made eye contact with you, pulling himself away from her. He spoke a few words in her direction before turning away, leaving her to make her way back alone.
Nick mentioned previously how they had broken up, but now you weren’t so sure. It definitely didn’t seem that way to Sabrina, but before you could dwell more on the thought he’d already made his way in front of you.
“You should come with us. It’s better for you to get a grasp on our situation so you can figure out what it is you need to do,” he exclaimed softly. His hands made their way into yours with an ease that no doubt would have made the Spellman girl’s eyes red, and only then did your face crack into a smile.
“I don’t think I’m welcome. Besides, it’s not just your coven I have to worry about,” you reminded. He paused for a second, before glancing down at you with that familiar, sheepish grin of his.
“I’m pretty sure most of Greendale’s issues stem from the Spellman House.”
He didn’t say it explicitly, yet he did. Instead of referring to his entire coven, currently housed at the academy, his wording made it obvious. All roads pointed to Sabrina Spellman being the cause and key to fixing Greendale’s problems, which meant the Spellman House was the best place for you to begin your mission.
As you walked towards the academy, the place where you’ll possibly be staying for the foreseeable future, Nick explained in more detail everything that’s happened so far, starting from Sabrina enrolling in the Academy of Unseen Arts.
If you were being honest, you weren’t exactly fond of Nick’s coven due their very large part in the degradation of the stability of this domain. But the more you thought about it, the more you realized that the problem stemmed from one person; the little Morningstar and her selfish complexities.
Starting with her refusal to cut ties with her mortal friends, it seemed that Sabrina Spellman brought disaster upon anyone who associated with her ever since. When Nick explained that although the coven’s problems originally began with Sabrina refusing her birthright and its responsibilities, the girl assumed the mantle only after everything went to shit, complicating her coven’s situation and Nick’s sacrifice.
You couldn’t help but to see red.
He may not have mentioned it, but from the dark bags under his red-rimmed eyes, you could tell Nick’s suffering didn’t end when he was freed from Hell.
It seems that you needed to take a long look at what you were willing to do to save your domain, and getting rid of the problem at the white-haired root seemed mighty enticing currently.
Electing not to share such thoughts with Nick, you continued to listen quietly the rest of the way there.
The pagans seemed like the biggest threat to your mission, from what you could infer from Nick. They were definitely cooking up something big, and you felt unease settling in the pit of your stomach. The vacuum of power in Hell caused for much bigger consequences here on Earth, and now forces that are much darker and older than you’d ever thought you’d have to deal with were about.
The witches may not have a clear picture just yet, but you knew very well what the startling, confident arrival of pagans in someone’s domain meant.
Pagans didn’t necessarily reject the existence of Fate. On the contrary, their willingness to patiently pursue what they see as the inevitable arrival of their deities actually aligns with all the laws of Fate and destiny.
That is what makes their existence in Greendale so troublesome.
Whatever the pagans are cooking up has a very high likelihood of succeeding.
Lost in thought, before you knew it you two had already arrived at the academy. Unsurprisingly, Sabrina was waiting for you there.
“So, Nick,” she started, crossing her arms. She gave you the once over, lips pursing into a thin line. It took all you had not to roll your eyes, instead bracing yourself for the round of questioning you just knew you were going to receive.
“Explain who your friend is again? I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned her.”
You knew that last line was a jab at you, but you ignored the childishness of the situation and waited in silence for the boy next to you to respond.
You supposed such a comment was meant to elicit insecurity, but honestly, you’ve never spoken about Nick to others either. It almost felt wrong; like the intimacy you two shared wasn’t meant for prying eyes and chattering mouths to behold. He was the first human you helped; the first person you came into contact with outside of your own kind.
Well, if you don’t count that insufferable Dark Lord of theirs.
Somehow, between all those secret visits and ardent conversations, you began to not only treasure your time spent with the boy, but Nick himself. You felt a bond between the two of you borne from the intensity of the feelings you’d shared. With Nick, you didn’t feel as if the weight of a literal world had been thrust upon your shoulders. It was as if you were actually making someone’s life better, and there was no better feeling than that.
“She’s someone who’s important to me,” Nick, after a long stretch of silence and stares, finally responded. “Very important.”
As you watched the girl in front of you flare her nostrils, you couldn’t help the giddy feeling that bloomed in your chest. At the very least, you knew your position in Nick’s heart wasn’t a low one. For some reason, the thought made you inexplicably happy.
“And why is she here?” Sabrina forced out. You raised an eyebrow, but supposed the question was warranted enough given the situation.
Supposed. The irritation wanting to present itself through snark bubbling at your throat indicated otherwise, but you held your tongue.
“(Y/n) is here to help. She has unique abilities that might be able to influence the situation given enough time.”
During your visits to Hell, you’d explained the way your powers worked to Nick. As an agent of Fate, a stela could not interfere directly with the people and events of a domain. They could only act independently, or at the most suggestively. Your powers were more of an indirect nature, influencing things behind the scenes.
A domain’s, and ultimately a person’s, Fate, was still up to them.
The girl hummed in acknowledgment, and before she could fire another question your way, a sharp summons by Zelda caught her attention.
“We’ll finish this later,” she tossed out over her shoulder, before hurrying toward the direction of her aunt’s voice. You couldn’t help but shiver at the pure commanding aura just the voice of the Zelda woman gave off, her persona reminding you of your own Head Stela. Scrunching your nose, you turned to Nick to see him inclining his head toward a corridor to the left.
“What’s wrong?” You queried, a bit worried. The look on his face seemed unpleasant, and you instinctively reached for his hand. The frown between his brows eased, and he glanced down at you with a soft expression.
“Nothing,” he said gently. “Let me show you around.”
You and Nick spent the next hour touring the academy grounds, you receiving a detailed backstory of the events that had happened recently and the academy’s history in general.
At some point, you two had run into Ambrose and Prudence, the duo attempting to find a way to cure the girl’s sisters of their afflictions.
You asked softly, making your way in front of Dorcas. The poor witch seemed to have been turned to stone, a horrified look permanently etched onto her face. Behind you, Agatha span around the room in circles, constant giggling and trills escaping her mouth.
Prudence couldn’t help the sneer that instantly came to her face, but calmed down at the thought of getting any help she could get for her sisters. Studying you, she stared holes into your body as if she could burn right through it. Shrugging it off, you turned towards Ambrose instead, who gave you a quick rundown of the situation. Apparently, the girls had been the first victims of the now war with the pagan witches, and had been reduced to the state they were in now.
Turning back to Dorcas, you placed a glowing hand onto the girl’s body, sending a thrum of energy into the statue. After a beat, you were delighted to feel a dull thrumming bouncing back at you. A wide smile spreading across your face, you addressed the three other sane occupants of the room.
“She’s still alive,” you exclaimed. “And definitely kicking.”
Prudence gasped, and immediately made her way to your side.
“She’s strong,” you told her, “Some people would have immediately lost consciousness in such a state. As long as she holds on, there’s hope.”
Ambrose was also by your side after that, shooting question after question about Dorcas’ condition and how to save her. After a while of back and forth, you shook your head in regret.
There was nothing you could personally to save her.
“I can keep her soul active. At the very least, it’ll keep her life force strong enough that her consciousness doesn’t fade.”
Prudence teared up, before shaking her head vigorously. “That’ll be enough. We will figure out how to save my sister together.”
She now seemed much more friendly to you, choosing to hold you by the arm and lead you to the dancing form of other sister, Agatha.
“She’s gone insane,” Ambrose started. “Prudence tried to organize her thoughts earlier, but they’re too scrambled, too chaotic. It is most worrying.”
At some point, Nick excused himself, making an excuse that you barely had time to catch before he’d disappeared. Somewhat put off, you elected to ignore it for now in favor of helping those in front of you.
You still had a job to do, after all.
You called, slowly approaching. The girl paused, before inclining her head towards you. Her shoulders shook as she lost herself in her own mind, a broken soul that you yearned to fix. It was a chaotic cloud, formless and desolate. You knew this girl wasn’t without her own pain, no doubt the premiere subject of the madness her mind was now drowning in. Reaching for the girl’s face, your palm once again released an aura most curious to Ambrose. He’d made it a point to ask you of it later, eager to learn how your powers worked.
He and the rest of the coven still knew nothing about you, but you’d proven yourself friendly so far and that was all he could be bothered to concern himself with.
Touching your forehead to Agatha’s, you found yourself being pulled into the depths of her memories. Images darted before you, certainly out of order and hard to condense into some form of cohesion you could go off of. Instead, you chose to cling to the next memory to flit by, determined to find an anchor for both yourself and the girl to cling to.
It happened to be the moment she’d first laid eyes upon the god Pan, also the one Prudence had witnessed secondhand earlier when she’d attempted to pull Agatha back to sanity.
This moment must be the most significant contributor to her current state.
Now, you’d done your fair share of learning about the pagan gods, but few stood out as Pan did. The god was madness personified, dooming anyone who viewed his countenance to torture within the recesses of their own mind. It was not quite as deliberate as what you’d witnessed with Nick and Lucifer, but it wasn’t too far off. The poor witch was reliving the worst moments of her life, trapped within a disarrayed cycle she couldn’t escape from.
Nearly being overwhelmed yourself, it took all your willpower to interrupt the nightmare. Placing yourself between Agatha and Pan as the memory repeated itself, you once again grabbed her face and held on tightly.
“There’s nothing to see. You are in your own mind and he isn’t real. You are the god here,” you told her firmly. Agatha’s eyes locked onto yours, fear obvious in her features. You cycled your energy through her body and yours, gradually easing the girl into a more calm state of mind.
“He..he did something to me!” she stuttered out, franticly grasping at your wrists. Her soul pulsated wildly, threatening to break the lull and resume its previous chaotic form.
You slowly nodded, keeping your aura calm and steady.
“He did,” you affirmed. “But it was only in your head. You are in control here, not him. He can’t do anything that you don’t allow him to; he exploits weakness. And you’re not weak, are you Agatha?”
She slowly shook her head, her gaze never leaving yours. You continued to feed your energy into her, coaxing her soul into a gentle slumber.
“I’m going to help you now. You will sleep, and be at peace.”
Putting Agatha’s soul to rest was the only thing you could do for the time being. The extent of the breakdown of her mind was too deep, and it required repeated therapy of her mind and soul. You could hep recondition her soul, but the issue with her mind would probably require the help of her sister Prudence, who’s strong will and overall intimacy with the girl was higher and would be of more help.
Pulling yourself back to reality, you lowered the now unconscious girl’s body to the ground along with your own, placing her on the floor.
“I put her soul to sleep,” you informed Prudence and Ambrose, swiping a stray hair from Agatha’s face as you gazed down at her. You felt your core throbbing weakly and knew you needed to rest, but you didn't regret it. As you spent more time in your domain you would no doubt get stronger, and you’d be able to help even more people.
You were genuinely looking forward to making your mark with the people of Greendale.
Prudence lowered herself to settle on the other side of Agatha, caressing her sister’s face in worry.
You reassured her that continued therapy by the two of you should eventually return her sister sane, and a watery smile made its way onto her face.
“Thank you,” she sighed, her exhaustion evident. You gave a small smile, nodding return. Ambrose placed a hand on your shoulder, beckoning you toward the corner.
There, he spoke of the things Nick neglected to, or rather chose not to. Specifically of his and Prudence’s quest, and the events that followed their return.
From Ambrose, you learned of Faustus Blackwood, and the alarmed humming of your inner core alerted you of the significance of said man. Apparently he’d become the Dark Lord’s newest vessel, and you reminded yourself to pay the man a visit later.
Of course, thanks to one Nicholas Scratch, you never got the chance.
A/N: I finally updated 🙃 I’ve made it a point to finally get a tag-list going for you guys’ sake due to my unreliable release schedule lol, so if you guys would like to be added please leave a message or comment requesting me to do so! The next chapter should come a lot sooner as my hours as work have finally been cut down a teensy bit more due to everything going on.
