Fic: Not What it Looks Like (Wizard'verse) 5/6

[yakihngenit]

Title: Not What it Look Like
Authors: Kathie and Ginny yakihngenit
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Series: Wizard 'verse
Warnings: RPS, slash, au, magic, moresomes
Pairings: Chris Osgood/Kris Draper, Steve Yzerman/Brendan Shanahan, Dan Cleary/Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg, Nick Lidstrom/Andreas Lilja, Darren McCarty/Aaron Downey
Rating: FRAO
Summary: When they detect strong Demon activity, the wizards already expect the worst, but what they find out, is something completely unexpected
Authors' Notes: Because we can't write just one



Kris set the bags of groceries on the counter before going to look to make sure Chris was still sleeping. He'd hesitated before going grocery shopping, but had decided that the Wizard would be safe enough if he left for half an hour.

The lump under the blankets didn't move when he entered the bedroom. Kris grinned and pulled the blankets back up to Chris' shoulders.

He had a feeling that he could smash cymbals together and Chris still wouldn't wake up.

It amused him, but on the other hand, it gave him a vague idea of how hard the last night had been on the Wizard.

He thought about it for a few seconds before deciding to just let Chris sleep some more.

There wasn't anything he would miss, after all.

He wandered aimlessly back in the kitchen and started to put away the groceries. Someone needed to clean the house anyways, he thought randomly, or they would choke on dust eventually.

If he thought that the Wizard would be upset that he didn't join him in bed, the thought fled quickly. There was other stuff that had to be done, he couldn't be with him all the time.

Chris knew that as well, but when he woke up, almost an hour later, and found himself alone in their bed, his first instinct was to reach out and check the energy lines around the house, making sure that Kris was at least close.

When he didn't see Kris within a few minutes, he got out of bed and slowly started to search for him. "There you are," he said in relief.

Kris frowned and climbed off the chair. He had been busy dusting off the ancient spell books.

"Couldn't find you," Chris explained.

Kris nodded and kissed him briefly.

"I don't even remember the last time we dusted in here," Chris said after they moved apart.

"I don't remember the last time you did, either," Kris pointed out and laughed. "You feel like finishing here while I take care of the laundry?"

"Sure," he agreed, taking the duster from him.

"Great," Kris grinned. "Let's check if I managed to dye your Wizard robes pink."

Chris paused. "You didn't."

Kris only laughed as he left the room.

Chris just barely resisted the urge to rush after him. He picked up the first book to dust before stopping and staring at the cover, wondering if the answer to helping Johan was inside. He sat down on one of he chairs and opened it, planning on just looking through it quickly.

"Are you looking for a cleaning spell?" Kris asked amusedly when he caught him.

"What?" Chris asked, jumping in surprise. He closed the book quickly and sneezed when dust flew up.

"I asked you to finish the dusting almost an hour ago," Kris patiently said.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I was looking for answers for Johan."

Kris nodded. "I understand," he said. "I'll start dinner, okay?"

"I really will finish the dusting," Chris promised.

"Yeah, but when?"

He set the book down. "Now."

Kris sighed. "Did you find something for Mule?"

"Maybe," Chris said. "But I'm going to wait until we find out more about his mother."

Kris nodded and wandered toward the kitchen, to start on dinner. He was convinced that Chris would find a solution.

Eventually.

Half an hour later, Chris re-emerged, a pile of big books in his arms.

"What did you find?" Kris asked curiously.

Chris grimaced. "A great recipe for potato salad, from my grandmother," he replied and handed over a single sheet of what seemed to be parchment. "If you ignore the Babylonian transcript of the Egyptian spell to kill a whole village's firstborn sons scribbled on the backside."

He blinked. "What? Why would she want to do that?"

Chris shrugged slightly. "Who knows?"

Kris laughed softly. "Wizards."

Chris shrugged again. "My grandma was a very powerful Wizard," he said defensively. "It's entirely possible that she wrote that down just because she was bored. Or annoyed with the neighbor's kids."

"She sounds kind of scary," Kris teased.

Chris shrugged. "She gave me my first stick."

"How old were you?" he asked curiously.

Chris shrugged and dropped the books on the kitchen table. "Two, maybe," he said. "There was no way I could hold it. But it was okay. The stick was lying next to me, and I couldn't sleep until I could wrap my hand around it."

"Sounds adorable," Kris smiled.

"And dangerous," Chris replied and sat down. "The magic was already there, and as a two-year old, I had no control over it. I almost set my parents' house on fire when I had a bad nightmare."

"When does magic usually show itself?"

Chris chuckled. "Ten, maybe eleven."

"Wow," Kris whispered. "What did your parents do?"

Chris laughed. "Containment charms," he simply replied. "What else were they supposed to do?"

"Train you," he said indignantly.

Chris shook his head. "Training..." he said, a bit wistfully. "You can't train a Wizard that young properly. They need a bit of maturity before you can even start with even the easiest spells."

"When did you start training?" Kris asked, wondering why he never had before asked those questions.

"Tenth birthday," Chris replied. "I got a pair of skates from my parents and a kettle to make potions from my grandma."

"Is there any Wizarding equipment that your grandmother didn't give you?" he asked amusement.

Chris laughed. "Yeah," he said and opened the book again. "There's a few bits and pieces every Wizard has to find themselves. Or create them. Find bones to cut runes into. Stuff like that."

"Did you find the answers you were looking for in there?" Kris asked him.

Chris chuckled and leaned back. "I don't know yet," he said tiredly. "We'll have to wait and see, I guess."

"Why don't you go back to bed," Kris suggested. "We can eat when you wake up."

"If I go back to bed now, I will be awake at three," Chris pointed out. "And then I can't play tomorrow night."

Kris shrugged. "Then come help with dinner."

Chris laughed and stood. "I'm at your service," he said, only half-jokingly. "What do you need me to do?"

"Make the salad," Kris suggested, not really trusting the tired Wizard with anything hazardous.

"Okay," Chris agreed and moved past him. He pressed against Kris' back for a second and kissed his neck before turning his attention to the vegetables.

"No onions," Kris requested. "Please."

Chris nodded and started to sort through the available vegetables.

"I just wonder..." he suddenly said and turned around. "How much do you think Johan knows about Demons?"

"His mother is one, I would assume a lot," Kris said. "You don't think so?"

"But why did he agree to become a Companion? I mean...he must've known beforehand that we kill Demons."

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him that."

"And how can we make sure he isn't spying for the Demons?" Chris sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is all so damn complicated."

"It's Mule you're talking about," Kris said. "Do you really think he'd do that?"

"I don't know," Chris sighed. "I just know he loves his mother very much."

"Do you think it's true that she's never hurt anyone?"

"No," Chris replied after a brief moment of thinking. "I believe that Mule thinks so. But I've never heard of a Demon not hurting humans."

"Maybe she's a reformed Demon?"

"Demons anonymous?"

"She married a human."

"'My name is Rip-Out-Their-Throats-While-They-Still-Scream and I haven't killed a human in three years, five months and two days.' Yeah, sure," Chris mocked.

Kris shrugged. "I don't know Chris. Do you think Mule's ever hurt anyone?"

Chris sighed and stabbed a piece of salad. Kris chose not to mention that he'd used a spoon for it.

"I don't even think Mule knows how to do that," Chris finally said and stared at the spoon in his hand. It had suddenly grown teeth, he realized, and cursed his lack of control.

Kris sighed softly and put his hand on Chris' shoulder. "You need to relax."

"Yeah," Chris agreed hollowly. "And I need you to get rid of that rune, but we both know it's not going to happen for another week, at least."

"Is it really bothering you that much?" Kris asked him.

"I can't feel you," Chris replied and sighed again. "I want to reach out for you and I never reach you. It's like...It's like a missing tooth. You always expect it to be there, but there is...nothing."

"Do you want me to get rid of the rune?" he asked hesitantly.

Chris shook his head tiredly. "Mac said to keep it for another week, so you'll keep it," he said firmly.

"Are you going to be okay if I do?" Kris asked him. "You look like crap right now."

Chris grimaced. "Grumpy, alone and miserable, but I'll survive," he reassured his Companion.

Kris stepped away from the counter and walked over to his Wizard. "Hey," he said gently. "One week. By then you'll have figured out the Mule-thing and can concentrate on the rest of your long list of things to do. We can get through this."

"Yes," Chris agreed and wrapped both arms tightly around the other man. "I still miss you."

"I'm right here," he promised. "Even if you can't feel me."

"I'm really grateful for that," Chris murmured and bent his head to suck lightly on the thin skin under Kris' jaw. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm glad that I did it."

Kris wrapped his arms loosely around Chris' waist. "Me too."

Chris hummed softly and traced his tongue against Kris' neck. "What would you do if you were in my place?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Talk to Mule in the morning. Get his side of his Mom's story and then contact her," he decided.

"If she's still alive," Chris pointed out. "We don't even know that. We don't know what level of Demon she is, we don't know how old she is, we don't know if she really loves his dad or if she's having other plans, we don't know which role Mule plays in those plans, if they exist, and we don't know if he knows of his involvement or not. We don't know how he would decide if he had to pick between his mother and his Wizard, and we don't know if we're just paranoid and panicking about nothing." He sighed deeply. "We just don't know anything."

Kris was quiet for a moment. "What are you going to do?"

Chris shrugged. "Talk to Mule in the morning. Get his side of his mother's story. Try to find out if she's still alive. Make sure Mule is okay. That allergic reaction...I don't like it."

"Then let's finish dinner so you can get to sleep early."

Chris nodded. "I'd like to check a few things in those old books before going to bed," he said. "But it won't take long. Hopefully."

Kris nodded and took a small step back. "Let's eat, then." He raised his eyebrows. "Your spoon ate our salad."

Chris looked over and blushed. "Sorry," he apologized as he reached his hand out. With a brief burst of energy, he turned it back into a regular spoon.

"Thanks," Kris laughed. "Hey, if you get a nightmare now...you won't set the house on fire, right?"

"No," Chris said. "I learned to control that long ago."

"Good to know," Kris murmured and returned his attention to the pots and pans on the stove. "Five minutes," he announced, and Chris returned to the table, to continue his research.

There had to be something in these books that he could use or adapt to help Johan. There had to.

He sighed and turned another page. For centuries, Wizards had hunted Demons and had kept humans safe from them. Protecting one went against every of his carefully honed Wizard instincts.

On the other hand, it was his responsibility to protect the innocent. And in his mind, there was not the trace of a doubt that Johan Franzen was innocent and needed to be protected.

Protected from the other Wizards.

If it wasn't so dangerous, he could've found amusement in that statement.

He refused to think about what would happen if it was discovered that they'd hidden him.

"Chris, dinner," Kris said a little while later. "Eat while you read."

He grunted an affirmative answer, but he didn't turn his eyes away from the heavy book. His grandmother had given it to him when he'd risen to the rank of a full Wizard, all those years ago. By that time, she was already old and sick and had lost her left hand to a Demon attack.

He turned another page and frowned at the drawing that filled almost half of it.

He ran his fingers over it, frowning slightly. He glanced at the name. That couldn't be Johan's mother, he thought, keeping a tight grip on his emotions.

"Chris? Oz?"

Kris' voice breached his concentration, and he tore his eyes away from the page with some difficulty.

"Chris?"

"Call Dan," he said, his voice raspy. "Tell him to get Mule and Elle and come here immediately. And call Mac. Ask him if it's okay to remove the rune. I need your support here."

"Wha -- okay," he said and rushed to grab the phone. He knew better than to waste time with questions when Chris had that look in his eyes.

Chris bent over the book again, his eyes flying over the text.

This was not good.

"Tell them to hurry up!" he shouted to Kris.

He hissed in frustration. Steve was in New York, making sure Brendan's new apartment was secure. He trusted the other Wizards on his team, but Steve's talent to distinguish between the smallest nuances in energy lines and magic auras would come in handy right now.

Because if Johan had known beforehand about this - there was nothing Chris could do to protect him.

He debated a moment about calling Aaron in as well. If things went wrong, Dan was going to be very unhappy.

"Not enough time," he hissed and hurried to grab his stick. He needed to strengthen the spells that protected his own house.

He had just finished when Mac pulled into the driveway with the other three. He took a deep breath and ignored the concerned look that Kris was giving him.

"Inside," he snapped and ushered them in. "Dan, give me your daughter."

"What are you going to do?" Dan asked, his knuckles white where they were wrapped around his stick.

Chris took a deep breath and slowly released it. Dan wouldn't agree to let him take Elle and bring her to the safest room in his house, put a calming spell on her and hope that he was just overprotective, if he didn't calm down now.

"It's important. Please," he said and held out a hand again. "Trust me."

Dan stared at him for a very long moment before slowly nodding. He trusted Chris. He'd grown up hearing the stories of the great Wizard of Oz and had become friends with him, but that didn't make him any less apprehensive. He carefully handed his daughter over and gripped his stick tighter. "What are you going to do?"

Chris handed Kris his stick and ran his free hand gently over the little girl's head, drawing invisible runes and protective spells on her soft skin.

"Whatever we do," he said softly and gave her a small smile, "We have to protect the next generation. We need to make sure there is someone to fight off the Demons when we aren't here anymore."

"I know," Dan replied. "It's one of the first rules a young Wizard learns. Why are you telling me this now?"

"I'm going to put her in the den so she can play," Chris told him. "I'll tell you after that."

Dan nodded and gripped his stick even tighter. It was more than obvious that he wasn't happy about Chris' decision, but he realized that the other man had a very good reason for acting the way he did.

"What's going on?" Johan asked, his throat tight with fear.

Dan reached out and took his hand in his. "Whatever it is," he started, but before he could end the sentence, Chris stepped back into the room and took his stick back from his Companion.

"It's serious," he began. "Johan, I need you to tell me the truth now."

"I haven't lied to you," he told Chris. "Never."

Chris nodded and pushed the book over to him. "Recognize something?" he asked, his voice clipped.

Johan paled. "That's my mother," he whispered.

"Are you sure?" Chris asked, his voice deadly calm and serious.

Johan nodded. "She only showed me her Demon form once but that was it," he whispered.

"What does that mean?" Dan asked impatiently.

"His mother is Pontianak, a level two Demon," Chris snapped. "What do you think it means?"

Dan paled. "Shit," he whispered.

"I don't understand," Johan said. "Why is a picture of my mother in your book? She's never done anything."

"Yes, she has," Chris calmly replied. "Read the text under the picture."

Johan frowned. "I can't," he confessed. "It's in some weird language."

Chris stared at him doubtfully. "You can't read that?"

Dan's elbow connected painfully with Chris' side.

"It's Babylonian," he hissed. "How the fuck is he supposed to be able to read that?"

"Some Demons can," Chris snapped. He drew in a deep breath as he struggled to get his temper in check. He looked to the side when he felt a hand settle on his shoulder and saw Kris standing calmly next to him. He still couldn't quite feel his Companion completely, but it was better than it had been.

"Chris, Johan is not a Demon," Dan pointed out. "Stop treating him like one!"

Chris slammed his stick down. "His mother is one! Johan! Sit down."

"It's not his fault," Dan replied, his voice growing louder as well. "Nobody is blaming you for your ancestors!"

"I need to know everything your mother told you about Demons," Chris told Johan, keeping his voice quiet. "Please. This is important."

Johan shrugged. "I don't know," he said helplessly. "She didn't really say a lot, you know."

Chris gave him a puzzled look. "Why what?" he asked.

Mac moved the rune he'd given Kris from one hand to the other. "Why is this so important?" he asked. "I know you dealt with level twos before. What's so special about this one?"

"She's the Demon of miscarriages," Chris told him. "Do you want to know what that means? That means that she has eaten babies. She morphs into beautiful women to seduce men and then kills their wife and children. And Demons don't just stop killing people for no reason. They stop because they're dead. If his mother hasn't killed in more than twenty years there is a damn good reason and I need to know it."

"Dad asked her?" Johan offered in a small voice.

"Your father asked so she stopped what she had been doing for centuries?"

Johan shrugged slightly. "I don't know," he admitted. "We never talked about this at home."

"How did she hide you?" Chris asked. "And what do you know of your Demon heritage?"

Johan shrugged again. "I don't know, she just did, she always had. She said it's to protect us, from the Wizards and from other Demons, and to keep our heads down."

Chris stared at him for several long seconds as he tried to figure things out. Demons were violent creatures and would kill their own kind if it would help themselves. Two half-Demon, half-humans would stand as much of a chance against a Demon as they would a Wizard. "Why did you become Dan's Companion?" he finally asked.

Johan shrugged again. "I liked him," he said and shuffled his feet slightly.

"Have you talked to your mother?"

"No," Johan muttered. "Dad did. Briefly. She's in Thailand with my brother, ran into a bit of a situation. But he said she's fine."

"Is your brother safe?"

Johan shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "If he's still with Mamma, then yes."

Chris had a few doubts about that. If Johan's mother had broken the spell she'd used to hide the family for years, he wondered what had been the cause and what she had done, but he didn't want to worry the young man in front of him any more than he had to.

Johan took a shuddery breath. "What are you going to do with me now?" he asked, not quite daring to look in Chris' eyes.

"I need to know how soon you can speak to your mother," Chris told him.

Johan nodded quietly and bit his lip.

"What?" Chris asked after a moment.

"That might take a while," he admitted. "She's probably calling for Christmas, again."

"You need to get a hold of her," Chris told him sternly. "Something is going on. For your sake, I truly hope it's not bad, but I can't know that for sure and until I know what happened to cause you to become unhidden from us, I can't remove the containment spells."

"If -- if there is something going wrong, will you protect her?" he asked hesitantly.

Chris sighed. "I'll do my best, okay? But I'm not promising anything."

"I love her," Johan said. "I don't care if she's a Demon, she's my mother."

Chris sighed again. "I know," he replied. "But don't you care for the fact that she killed thousands of people?"

He shrugged. "She stopped. She hasn't done that since my father asked. Even Demons can change."

"Are you sure?" Chris asked again and ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, there's this summoning spell I'd like to modify and try. Just to talk to her. I promise, I will not hurt your mother, unless she attacks me, okay? I swear."

He hesitated but nodded. "All right," he whispered.

Chris reached out and squeezed his elbow gently.

"We'll find a solution," he promised.

Johan nodded but didn't say anything.

Dan reached out and wrapped both arms around his Companion.

"How long will this take?" Mac asked.

"I need a few hours to prepare," Chris admitted and waved toward the books. "I don't want to bind a Demon to a bottle or a teakettle or something."

"Are you going to bring Lils or Pav in?" Kris asked.

"Pavs," Chris decided. "He has experience with this."

"I'll call him," Mac offered. "I'd like Aaron here too."

Chris nodded, his attention already focused on the book. Kris just rolled his eyes and said, "Since we're all here...anyone want something to drink?"

"Anything with alcohol?" Johan asked hopefully.

Kris laughed and nodded.

"Just some water, thanks," Dan decided.

"Russian water?" Kris teased lightly, but he handed the other man a glass and a bottle of water without further comment. "Let's see if we can work something out for you and your mom," he whispered encouragingly, and Johan could only nod.

He really hoped Chris knew what he was doing.

An hour later, all preparations for the summoning spell were done.

Johan looked around the kitchen nervously. "No pentagram?" he asked, only half-jokingly.

"No," Chris replied and held up a piece of chalk. "We don't want to bind her to something, so a simple circle should be enough."

He only nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Chris quickly sketched the circle and then a second, smaller one. "You stand here," he instructed. Kris was moving back, behind him, and Dan Demonstratively took his place close to Johan, while Chris added rock salt and holy water to the bigger circle and stood back, whispering spells under his breath.

"Call your mother," he finally said.

Johan hesitated for a brief second and nodded. "Please don't hurt her," he whispered once more before doing as ordered.

TBC