Magic Gone Wrong!
Title: Magic Gone Wrong!
Chapter: 1/?
Authors: LucklessMallory and Chinesefirethorn
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: LeexGaara
Summary: Tentacles, ftw?! Gaara is a sorcerer who lives outside of the small town where Lee works as a smith. When Lee sits in on one of Gaara's ritual summonings, something starts to go terribly wrong...
~*~*~*~
The room was dark, with high rafters above and thick black curtains over each window. A few specks of light fought through the cracks where the wall met the ceiling, hardly noticeable as a person’s eyes adjusted to the dimness. There were sounds in the dark, hissings and bubblings of things liquid that churned. A single man with eyes shrouded in shadow murmured nonsensical words of power under his breath as he moved his hands about a small table full of ingredients.
A foul smell wafted through the air as one of the potions ripened above a spitting fire. Gaara dipped a ladle into the thick, glowing drink and poured himself a tall glass. The liquid swirled in his cup, rapidly changing colors between blue, gold, purple, and finally resting on a deep copper hue that was a tad darker than his hair. He lifted the glass high into the air to examine it properly, and prepared to take a drink with hand that shook from excitement.
Before the lip of the glass even reached his mouth, the heavy ironwood door of the room burst open with an echoing thud. Hauling in an evil looking black cauldron that spanned twice the body carrying it inside, the blacksmith Lee marched straight towards the center of the alchemy lab. He could see the tips of Gaara’s red spikes from around the heavy metal, though he couldn’t see much and would have stumbled around the potions and shelves if he didn’t visit so often.
“Master Gaara! Your cauldron is ready!” He called out cheerfully, setting the cauldron right at Gaara’s feet and jerking up quickly, only to carelessly hit the sorcerer’s hand as he did with the glass’ contents spilling all over him. A burst of colorful sparks erupted all over his body before he suddenly shot up a good foot higher.
Eyes comically wide, he stared down at Gaara and cracked a sheepish grin. “Um...oops?”
Gaara’s hard jade eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. His empty hands clenched in front of him as he began to growl.
“I have been brewing this potion for months, excerpting every scrap of energy I had to make sure it aged just right. I have been waiting years to find the right ingredients. Dammit, Lee! You stole my only chance at height!” Gaara turned his eyes in mourning to the potion he’d so studiously prepared. He could tell by the way the foulness of the scent was receding that the liquid was past its prime. He wouldn’t grow more than half an inch if he tried drinking it now. “It’s not fair! You were already tall, and now you’re a giant!”
“Oh...but look at the bright side! At least it did not explode all over your home like last time.” Lee said, peering over at the bubbling remains of Gaara’s potions. After messing up countless other brews, he knew by now that the lack of a strong scent and the gradual fade of the potion’s color meant it had lost its potency.
He bowed his head and tried to look as apologetic as he could despite towering over the sorcerer, soot-covered hand rubbing the back of his neck and leaving a gray smear there. “I am sorry, Master Gaara! Just give me a list and I promise to find those ingredients and help you reach the youthful height you wish to have!” Giving Gaara a thumbs up, he earnestly added, “Though I think you look fine the way you are.”
“Sorcerer Gaara.” the redhead corrected automatically. He glared up at Lee, feeling the skin of his neck and ears grow hot with envy. He’d had to look up to meet Lee’s face before, but now he positively had to crane his neck! Gaara huffed and turned around. He sat down his empty glass and picked up a small vial with a green substance inside.
“Don’t bother, butterfly tears are far too rare for you to find. Even if you managed to catch a crying insect, your smith hands are too rough to harvest the tears.” Gaara turned back and tossed the vial to the other man. “Thank you for the cauldron. If you find yourself experiencing any side effects from the potion, drink the serum. If it feels life threatening, come see me when the candelabras I ordered are done.”
Catching the vial, Lee inspected its green contents before tucking it into one of his apron pockets. “Do not worry! There is nothing that a strong will cannot overcome, and I am sure my body can handle minor side effects.”
Faltering, he glanced down at himself with his rolled up protective shirt now hanging above his waist, and his pants rising above his calves. The only thing that still fit him well was the leather apron he wore when working with metals. He’d always been tall and lanky as a boy, but years working beside a forge and pummeling liquid metal into everything from kitchen utensils to weapons and armor had bulked him up and burned his skin into a warm tan. The added height only stretched the lean muscles along his arms and the cuts of his abs. “Erm, by the way, is this permanent?”
“Quite.” Gaara sighed wearily and reached into his robes. He pulled out a small leather pouch heavy with coins and tossed that to Lee as well, payment for the cauldron. “You’re lucky it was only a growth serum this time. Last time I specifically remember the burns I had to tend to when you walked in on my last summoning. This time all you’ll need is a larger pair of shoes.”
The sorcerer looked down pointedly at Lee’s feet. The front of the smith’s shoes had burst open to make room for his toes.
Bowing his head slightly in thanks for the payment, Lee grinned at Gaara and wiggled his toes. “It is about time for me to get a new pair anyway. Is there anything I can repair for you while I am here? I will also give you an additional discount for the candelabras for messing up your potion again.” At the rate he'd been going, he’d given Gaara discounts for as long as he could remember. Though the sorcerer was his best customer with his metal tools and materials constantly needing maintenance, or for substances to be melded together in the hottest part of the forge.
He wiped his hands on the front of his apron, finding that his current height gave a fantastic new view of the redhead. Gaara had fascinated him the day he arrived at the little wayside town they lived in, since he was so different from everyone else and carried himself with such high-born dignity that even the mayor couldn’t manage. He’d claimed the old abandoned mansion at the outskirts of town as his, despite the mayor trying to evict him once in a while. “How have your studies been, Wizard Gaara?”
“Sorcerer.” Gaara corrected automatically. “And my studies have been rather insightful recently. I finally feel prepared for my next summoning project. I have been unable to call for anything but mere gremlins since I arrived in this town. I’ve finally located the spells I need to summon a proper demon, at least without sacrificing livestock.”
Gaara gave the smith one last withering look of envy before turning and crossing the room. He sighed to himself, but otherwise accepted the loss of his newest potion. Lee was a good blacksmith, one of the best Gaara had met so far, and for that he could tolerate the several times that Lee had broken his concentration or made a mess of his work. Gaara lifted the book he needed from a shelf and waved a hand behind him with a soft murmur. The old potion lifted itself silently from the fire and levitated across the room before sitting against the far wall.
“Would you mind hanging the new cauldron on the spit?” The sourcerer called over his shoulder as he rummaged through a few select jars. “And be careful of the flame- it can’t be put out with water.”
"I am always careful! At least, when it is fire I am handling." Lee quipped good-naturedly as he carried the newly repaired cauldron and carefully hooked it on the iron base to hold it in place. “The farmers will sorely miss the business you give them, but it is good that you do not need to sacrifice any more innocent cows or sheep. Father Genivi might not even include you in his sermon this Sunday!”
He didn’t know why Gaara liked to summon creatures that more often than not, turned loose on their town, but he was amazed by the magic surrounding the sorcerer, which prickled his skin when he got too close to the man and when traces of it flowed out as he worked on Gaara’s tools. Business was business, but Lee liked dropping by the old mansion and witnessing wonders beyond his imagination.
A brief look of worry furrowed his brows as he thought of the damage a demon would cause on their town. Surely this time, Gaara had safety measures planned! There were enough townspeople who disapproved of Gaara’s experiments. “What will you do with the demon? May I watch the summoning?”
“Having a demon under my power is something every sorcerer aims for. I’ve done it before, but that was years ago.” Gaara turned and strode back to the new cauldron with two jars in hand and a book under his arm. He paused to raise a brow at Lee, looking him briefly up and down before nodding and setting one of the jars on a tall stool. “You can witness it, as long as you are prepared to sit still for a couple hours. I’ll have to prepare a salt barrier for you, but it’s a simple task.”
Gaara examined the jar in his hand briefly in the fire light. Inside was a greenish goo with something floating inside that looked vaguely like hair. He hefted it once and then slammed it into his cauldron, breaking the glass. The substance splattered across the iron and began to hiss, but didn’t spill over the lip of the bowl. He lifted his second jar from the stool and quickly poured that in as well, which caused a low, thick smoke to begin swirling inside.
“This Saturday, at three o’clock in the morning, sharp. You can come early, but not late.” Gaara pursed his lips and squinted for a moment, before pulling out his book and opening it. “Thank you for your help today, Lee. If you wake up tonight and find that your nails or tongue have grown more than an inch in length, don’t forget to drink the serum.”
The blacksmith was mesmerized at the thick smoke swirling inside the cauldron, but he shook his head as Gaara thanked him. "It is no trouble at all! I am sorry again for ruining your growth potion. Next time, I will be more careful when I enter your home." Lee gave Gaara a thumbs up then patted the serum on his apron pocket in acknowledgement of his instructions.
There was still a hint of worry about Gaara summoning a demon, but it was accompanied by excitement too. Gaara was letting him sit in while he completed what he said was a major goal for all sorcerers! "I promise to do my best to sit still and avoid interrupting your summoning. I will finish your candelabras with youthful passion to get them to you before then!"
Flashing the other man a bright smile, Lee began to back out only to bump into a table and knock over a few books to the floor. He flushed and began gathering said books, clumsily hitting a mop and bucket with his lengthened arms. Leaping to his feet and gingerly setting the pile of books back on the table, he held his hands out in embarrassment and the lingering excitement he had. "Hahaha-- sorry! My body is- I mean, you know. I will see you Saturday, Master Gaara! Happy brewing!"
Before he could do something worse like break another rack of potions like before, he ducked out of the double doors and headed back to his home and smithy. Maybe his neighbor could help him sew bigger clothes for him.
Gaara stared after the man for a few long seconds, wondering if he’d made the best decision about letting Lee join him. Of course, Lee wasn’t usually so clumsy (most of the time) and Gaara knew that his new height would take some getting used to. The redhead sighed to himself with longing. It would take another six months before he could even hatch another artificial butterfly cocoon, and the creature inside only turned out right one out of every seventy nine times.
With a sharp turn and a snap of his fingers, Gaara signaled for a gremlin that had been hiding in the rafters to come down and help him dispose of the spoilt potion against the far wall.
~*~*~*~
Summoning a demon required the biggest space one could find, with enough room to draw the sigils of summoning, power, prison, and protection around a pentagram, and making sure that there were enough candles to give the right mood and setting to entice the demon to appear.
Said mood didn't deter Lee from shifting and squirming in the small salt-encircled area he was in as he eagerly waited for Gaara to begin. "What is the demon's name? Do demons have a voice or do they speak in your mind through some strange force?" He asked, taking in every detail that the sorcerer put into the main hall of his mansion. All those spooky stories and legends about this place that the townswomen told almost seemed true with the heavy atmosphere surrounding it. It felt as if there was a force or power seeping out from the very walls and lingering like a mist.
Lee fingered the linen trousers he'd bought the other day and tried not to let the goosebumps erupting along his neck overwhelm him. He trusted Gaara's assurance that the salt circle would protect him. Besides, the light of the candles dancing over the sorcerer's face was enough to push away the doubts he had.
“Demons speak out loud quite often, but it takes large amounts of power from either them or you in order to hear them.” Gaara answered patiently as he lit the last candle around the circle. He would tell Lee to be quiet when he needed to concentrate the most, but he didn’t mind the man’s curiosity until then. The redhead was naturally a reclusive person and didn’t enjoy talking to others often, but he’d gotten to know Lee over the years. Lee was one of the few people who didn’t discriminate the sorcerer for his profession, and Gaara had learned to expect and even enjoy his company when the smith arrived with new goods or took interest in a project.
“The only time you can hear a demon’s voice in your mind is if you are in danger of possession. Lee,” Gaara straightened and fixed the other man with a piercing look. The fabric of his dark cloak swayed around his frame, accenting the grace of his steps as he moved inside the circle briefly. “If you begin to hear a voice in your head that does not belong to you, tell me right away. It may not be a dark voice- it can be a woman or a child or someone you know personally. It may make you promises or offer gifts, but I promise you that it would only be evil and full of lies beneath the glamour.”
Gaara pulled a needle from his pocket and pierced the tip of his finger without any indication of pain. Blood, the deep and rich color of red wine began to swell from the wound. The redhead bent and smeared the liquid across the center of the pentagram, binding himself to whatever might emerge from his summoning.
The sight of blood didn’t disgust Lee, having grown used to little accidents at the smithy or when he was harvesting materials. The ominous way Gaara smeared his own blood on the pentagram, however, made the blacksmith swallow thickly and sit up straighter. “Yosh, I will not succumb to dark voices no matter what they offer me." He vowed to himself, watching as the pentagram seemed to burn against the wooden floors of the mansion after receiving Gaara's blood.
It was easy enough to look at the sorcerer instead with the black cloak wrapping around the man's figure and billowing whenever a faint wind blew through the lobby. Lee wondered if Gaara was aware of what the town's ladies and girls thought about him, though he definitely didn't want the sorcerer to hear what the men had to say. Those that didn't want to drive him out of town had darker, perverse plans that thankfully never happened because of the power Gaara had.
Gaara nodded and then backed slowly out of the circle until he was standing at the edge. He looked sideways at Lee and gave the smith a small, rare smile as his eyes glimmered with devious excitement. He rubbed his palms together and took a deep breath. “Do not be too concerned, Lee. I have done this before. I will not let anything harm you. Now focus on staying quiet for a while while I begin.”
Closing his eyes and relaxing his hands at his sides, the sorcerer meditated for a moment. He centered himself, focused on his goal, and began to slowly extend an arm over the lip of the circle. There was a distinctive buzz in the air, and a feeling of restlessness as Gaara began to move his lips silently. Words shaped themselves, power stemmed from their meaning, and there was a flickering of movement across the lines of the pentagram.
There wasn't anything Lee could do but nod and press his lips together, cheeks warming up and his eyes wide as the image of Gaara smiling at him with the flickering candlelight dancing on his face, burned in his mind. It wasn't just the power and the magic that drew him to the mansion. Gaara was beautiful though he'd never dared to let the sorcerer know his thoughts.
The instruction to keep silent and stay in the circle were clear. What Lee hadn't anticipated was the sudden icy chill that jolted up his spine as Gaara began to chant. He gripped his pants in alarm as he caught a flash of-- of something big and dark beginning to manifest in the middle of the pentagram.
An ear-splitting pop suddenly rang in the hall, but was just as quickly dampened by a thick silence. The space inside the pentagram began to fill with black fog, inky shadows crawling across the floor to gather at the center.
The words were coming quicker now, overlapping and swirling in his mind as Gaara whispered. Images appeared behind his eyelids, displaying creatures and manifestations not of this world. Louder- he called out, a scream in the next realm that was only a murmur in the present. Dark colors shifted and he spoke quicker, moving his lips faster, chanting louder. His hands began to shake. He could feel it, the power and domination over something strong and writhing.
At the same time however... something wasn’t right. He grasped, feeling beads of sweat form on his brow with effort as he searched for what he needed. He could see the demon, hear it, but... where was its name? He should have harnessed its name by now. That was what would ultimately turn the tides or not- the power of a name was infinite. But he just... couldn’t... find it. Where was it? What creature could be so powerful that it could hide its name from him, after the ages he’d spent ripping it from the throats of all the creatures of darkness he could find?
In the center of the pentagram, the shape that had emerged was beginning to grow. It started as a thin fog, and slowly gained solidity and strength. There was a new pulse in the buzzing air, and something wicked was absorbing Earth’s air for the first time.
Gaara gasped and his chanting stuttered. He winced as pain formed in his temples and chest. He struggled for control. What was the creature’s name?
Inside the salt circle, Lee was crying out Gaara's name in alarm. The icy chill was now frost erupting from his scalp to his toes. He could feel the enormity of the dark power probing around the protective circle he was in; could see how Gaara faltered just as a black tendril slithered from the center of the fog past the pentagram's lines.
All of the sigils were glowing brightly around them, but as more tendrils began to emerge, they began to whip away parts of the symbols Gaara had carefully drawn with chalk and salt.
Who calls me?
Out of the corner of his eye, Lee caught a twisted face hanging from a looming, gleaming black trunk, tendrils rising in the air and slithering everywhere inside the pentagram. Lee bolted to his feet, whipping his head to stare at the empty space where he’d seen a monstrosity that terrified him to the very marrows of his bones.
Come closer.
“Gaara.” He called out hoarsely, his voice silenced almost at once by the sheer evil presence permeating the hall. No matter what Gaara said, this was far from the minor summonings the other had performed.
The sorcerer’s lips quivered as he still struggled to chant, but it was getting harder with each new pulse in the air. He could feel his energy draining away as though something was sapping it from within. The spell that bonded him to the demonic energy was being used against him, drawing at his energy and making his blood churn. Unable to hold the pretense of chanting any longer, Gaara felt his voice emerge in a sound of pain as he slowly opened his eyes and stumbled backward.
He could hear Lee’s voice, and ice shot through Gaara’s core with horror as he recognized the strength in the demon that writhed within the circle of the pentagram. Long, thick tendrils curled and reached, extending beyond the confines he’d laid down. He met Lee’s terrified eyes from across the circle and tried not to let the smith see how weak he had already become.
“Lee, run. Now!” Gaara’s hands couldn’t stop trembling as he shot spells at the places where the demon had broken free. He didn’t know what power he had left, but he had to keep control! “Go back to the town!”
The flashes of magic that hit the demon only seemed to quicken the tendrils breaking free. They convulsed and shot towards Gaara, wrapping tightly around his wrists and pulling him forward towards the pentagram. More tendrils broke free of the protective barrier around the pentagram and swept Gaara’s feet off the ground.
“No!” It only took the sight of Gaara being dragged across the hall for Lee to dash from the salt circle towards the sorcerer and throw his body over the other, trying to yank off the tendrils on Gaara’s arms.
A roar suddenly filled Lee’s mind, snapping his head back in a silent scream, eyes rolling back until only the whites showed. Around his neck, a thick ring of smoke curled around his flesh until it bulged.
He gave his blood. He is rightfully mine.
Gaara cursed under his breath in panic, struggling internally as he still tried to grasp what he was missing. The tendrils that lifted him from the ground and gripped at his skin were cold and merciless, holding his body so tightly that he thought they were trying to break him. He could feel the demon’s power sapping away at his strength even now, making it hard to fight. His eyes widened in shock as he found Lee upon him, struggling to help before being overwhelmed and touched by the demon as well.
“Dammit, Lee, run!” Gaara lashed out, trying to reach for the smith, only to fall limp and panting as weariness made him dizzy. He arched his back, trying not to let a freezing tendril wrap around his chest and failing. “You’re not bound, you can run!”
“I cannot leave you, Gaara!” Lee forced out despite the crushing pressure on his neck. He couldn’t see anything but darkness though he could hear Gaara’s muffled voice telling him to run. His hands had flown to the tendril pressed against his skin even as the rest of his body kept both of them from being pulled into the pentagram.
He cannot hear you. This is all in your mind.
With his senses dulled, a deep, purring whispering voice now filled his awareness. It was only then that he realized that he’d been hearing it since Gaara began to chant. “Leave him alone!”
This little one called me. He wants my power and I yearn for his ambition.
Lee’s hands suddenly slid from the tendril on his neck down to Gaara’s chest, sliding across it slowly until his own fingers wrapped around Gaara’s chin and began to lightly stroke his face.
Just as much as you want him. What would you give to keep me from stripping him of power and sanity until he is but an empty husk?
Nausea clenched his stomach from the continued vice around his neck, and he felt it even more when the tendril finally loosened, forcing his vision to come back in spots. What would he give to save his friend from that fate? “Anything.” He gasped out, wheezing as he caught sight of Gaara below him.
Very well.
The binds around Gaara’s wrists, chest, and ankles suddenly slid away, retreating back into the dark mass behind them before swirling in a rush around Lee and piercing his mouth, forcing his jaw to open wide as the demon took possession of the smith’s body.
The sorcerer fell to the stone floor with a heavy thump of limp weight. Gaara groaned in pain, fluttering his eyelids as he struggled to understand what had just happened. The connection between himself and the demon had continued to sap his strength until he was barely conscious anymore, before it suddenly... broke. He could still feel the demonic energy in the room, but the creature’s claim over him was dead. Gaara struggled, rolling his head around until he spotted Lee’s feet. Rolling over on weak, shaky limbs, his breath wavered as he reached out and tried to grab the other man’s ankle. Why hadn’t he run?
Then Gaara could feel it- with what little power he had left, he could sense the core of the demon in the room. Gasping raggedly, Gaara screamed “Asmodeus!”
Lee’s eyes shot open, the dark circles of his pupils expanding until his eyes were completely black. Slowly sitting up, he regarded Gaara with lidded eyes before his lips twisted into a grin. “Too late, little one. The smith has made his bargain.” Reaching out, Lee cupped Gaara’s face with calloused fingers, phantom tendrils brushing over his cheeks and neck as the man moved to kneel in front of the sorcerer. “But I will serve you as long as you have my true name. Master Gaara.”
The sorcerer’s eyes widened with horror and his skin crawled as he met Lee’s eyes. The darkness there, deep and aching and wild as it tried to pull him in. Lee’s skin was warm, but all Gaara could feel was the frost of the demon. No- this wasn’t Lee. It couldn’t be. Gaara grasped at the wrist near his face, struggling to pull himself up but lacking the strength. His eyelids became too heavy to bear and his body too weak to move. With a last groaning breath, the redhead surrendered to unconsciousness. His body fell limp, with only his face cradled in Lee’s hands.