Family Traditions
Karel_Stein_Adler
Summary:
14 years after Grimm 5x21-22 "Beginning of the End" and after "Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust"
1 year after "Family Values"
Raising teenage Grimms
For better imagine - Addams Family theme is reccomended to hear during reading...
Just an possible continuation of fifth serie after several years.
Family Traditions
Chapter 1 – House full of Witches
Kelly returned home from his Kendo training. Gym bag with Bogu (armor), Shinai (bamboo representation of sword) and Bokken (wooden sword) was heavy and clumpsy.
Microchip reader near doorknob beeped, as recognized microchip in his watch. Surveillance camera zoomed on his face to recognize, whether is it true face or an mask. Kelly feels it as annoying, but with a number of enemies, like his family made, it was unfortunately necessary. Dactyloscopic sensor on door knob recognized his thumb.
As camera, same as detectors in garden, did not recognize another person, big "G" for Grimm on door armor plate turned to light and lock got unlocked. If he came here with classmate or another person, security system would demand a password. Depending on password, Kelly and visitor would be led into atrium, where they would be blocked till his father Nick or his mother Adalind would come to check that visitor, or even knockdown gas system would be automatically launched under password Cattleya. It would be really very unwise to speak about Orchids in entrance hall of the Burkhardts family house. Password Bletilla would activate target location system to automatic mode, i.e. almost anything can cause shot of tranquilizer dart. Password Cymbidium would start firing tranquilizer darts into any non-authorized person. Face recognition system starts the same automatically, whenever appears face of prohibited person or any kind of mask. Because of it, during Halloween masking and unmasking was always necessary to be done in garden. Same problem is with big woge, however Adalind's big woge is included into authorized faces. Security system also targets to guns or similar weapons. Once an weapon is pulled out not by hands of Nick Burkhardt or Theresa Rubel, still preferring being named Trubel, it also knocks out everybody with arm in hand…
Tomorrow is his first day in a new school. He informed himself, that school entrance is equipped with metal detector, so no chance for any gun. Anyway, father strictly prohibited him to have his own gun before eighteen. Yes, Kelly got trained to shoot and he is really good in it, but sorry bunny, no firearm before legal age. So only weapons could be his pair of wooden yawaras, gift from aunt Trubel…
"How was training, darling?" asked mother with a bit daydream face grimace.
"Fine, sensei said, next time I can come with Katana," tried Kelly, how much is his mother focused on other problems.
"Sounds great, darli…" seems ideas caught and kicked Adalind's mind. "Kelly, you're trying me!" said outraged.
"Sure, mom," smiled Kelly. "Problem with Diana or with Cathy?"
"Diana is with Sean till next Sunday. But I'm sure, Catherine woged for a moment, but she keeps denying."
Kelly's family was two classes up to just weird.
Adalind Burkhardt, his mother, is part-time lawyer consultant in prominent lawyer firm, owned by wesens. Through some blackmail she owns not a small share of that firm. On other hand she is a Hexenbiest, Weird Witch of West, as she sometimes says as kind of joke. The truth is, in Tillamook, as well as in Garibaldi or in Cape Meares lives no Hexenbiest and nearest Hexenbiest living in more western place lives in Primorsky krai (Maritime Province) – Far East part of Russia. She woges at home so often, that Kelly is long-time used for 'mamma's working visage'…
Father has daytime job as Portland PD homicide detective and unofficial agenda as local Grimm, to hunt those of wesens, who refuse to agree live according Gesetzbuch Ehrenkodex. He is also adviser and guarantor of reestablished Wesen Council. Alexander, becoming new head of Council, was wise enough to cooperate with Nick, better than making Grimm angry. He was once in the Burkhardts house as a guest and Kelly heard him speaking with Adalind: "It is enough, when I say – 'The Grimm wants it such a way.' Nobody is brave or stupid enough to disagree…"
Father's boss, captain Mosser, recognized some of Nick's abilities during case with serial robberies. Robber was always in animal mask, once he chose to attack a wrong person, captain Mosser himself. When police captain shot him, robber dewoged. Mosser was veteran of Afghan War Campaign, so was not so badly shocked, but asked detective Burkhardt to explain:
"You have lot of similar cases solved," said one evening captain from Nick's phone. "So how could I explain to anybody, that man before dying changed from Bear face to normal human look."
"Stay with body for a while, captain, please," said Nick. "I'll look in shop, what mask is suitable."
Kringer's Halloween Mask Shop is owned by Eisbibers. They have big collection of creepy masks, many of them made according truth faces and for Nick Burkhardt they have always special price without records. Captain Mosser recognized Jägerbar mask, so Nick brought one to him and together they planted robbers DNA (meaning his skin and hairs) into mask, like if he dying took mask away. From that moment Nick has been asked to manage solving every weird case precinct have to engage in.
Kelly is in fact an unbelievable case of child with so different parents, same about his two years younger sister Catherine. Truth is, Kelly and Catherine, are both main reason for so often woge of their mother – she needed to know, whether any of them is to start woge himself or herself and whether they obtained father's heritage, Grimm's eyes. Kelly's eyes became Grimm's black in his age of twelve, so parents arrange for him medical statement, for allowing him to wear sunglasses because of ophthalmologic reasons. They came to Doctor Jenkins, who woged into Scharfblicke, seeing Hexenbiest in his ordination. When Nick made him to calm down, explaining, he does not need his head, Dr. Jenkins willingly agreed to write an statement for Kelly's school, being informed, that Kelly has his dad's eyes in many senses of it. The same story was with Cathy in her eleven years.
Kelly's one year older sister Diana is not biological daughter of his daddy. She is in Joint Custody with Sean Renard. Her father was Portland Mayor, but only for one shortened term. He was unable to find sponsors for next campaign and was not reelected. Thanks to some backstage jiggery-pokery he became deputy chief police commissioner. Someway he is Nick's superordinate, but he never found courageousness to use it.
Diana did not grow for several years, she started to grow taller just six years ago, like if her body had been awaiting for something. She was homeschooled, first years because of being on lower level of mental and emotional development, than corresponded to her body look. But now she seems to be normal, well, if she wishes to seem so. Creepy is, she is really powerful, but she does not need to woge into necrotic view of Herenbiester, her face just become be more pale and her eyes start to shine. It was three years ago, when her powers awaken and it was just on evening before her twelve years birthday. That evening started heavy rain and terrible thunderstorm with a plenty strikes of lightning close to the Burkhardts house.
From this storm appeared older woman. Kelly's father as same as mother both recognized her, but anyway she woged, manifesting her being an Hexenbiest.
"You need me now," creaked and came into house directly to Diana's room. Half of an hour later the storm disappeared.
"Call me Elizabeth!" asked that woman.
Kelly later discovered, she is Diana's biological grandmother. She hates to be named grandmother or aunt, so she is Elizabeth for inhabitants of the Burkhardts house and Madam Lascelles for visitors. She is maybe not as strong like Diana is, but she is really experienced and it often looks like Judo match, where Diana uses brute power and Elizabeth neutralizes her with using Diana's own powers to do so.
There are often female visitors, Hexenbiester off course. They usually are almost normal and quite a nice persons. Only one of them, Tatyana Fyodorovna Griboyedova, came with arrogant tone and asked Nick to "move himself and bring here Madam Elizabeth".
Nick cried: "Elisabeth, Baba Yaga is here to see you!"
When Tatyana Fyodorovna woged in rage, Nick showed her his Grimm's eyes. Elizabeth appeared, surprisingly with a sword in her hands, appointing hilt of it to Nick.
"Are you so stupid, Tatyana, do you really think I do not know, what happened in this house? You were disrespectful to our host. You have two choices, either you kiss the sword blade and hope in Grimm's mercy, or be beheaded by that blade, now and here."
Tatyana Fyodorovna kneeled and kissed sword blade.
Elizabeth was second Hexenbiest in house, almost all the time woged. She looked after Diana, whenever Diana came to Sean Renard place, she accompanied her. But she also checked both Kelly and Catherine, whether they tend to woge themselves. Elizabeth needed room next to Diana's so Kelly had to left his one and move to converted attic room.
Advantages for him were more place, extra shelter for (mostly future) weapons and also the fact, his mum came there less often to check him. Truth is, he had only one butterfly knife, the spoil of being attacked by one stupid Skalangeck (truth is also, there is nothing like a clever Skalangeck). He attacked Kelly and when young Grimm broke his jaw on kerb and smashed several dents from his mouth, Skalangeck blacked out or pretended oblivion. Kelly took away everything (i.e. attacker's clothing), where his DNA could be and left unconscious Skalangeck there laying on pavement almost naked. Attacker's clothes Kelly burned that same day. Unfortunately, Skalangeck's dents, being out of his maw, dewoged and became normal human. So the only profit was that cheesy butterfly knife from one pocket…
XXXXXXXX
When Kelly had 13-th birthday, his parents told him, censored, as he was sure that day, version, about how it happened, he is here on Earth. It started with strange birthday gift, his mother gave him. It was an ordinary river pebble, with a hole in center. I looked a bit like a donut made from stone. Pebble was fixed on leather thong.
"What is it, mom?"
"Well, you know, not each Hexenbiest is kind-hearted," explained his mother. "And this is stone with hole hollowed out by clean fresh water. When you suspect being influenced by some spell like illusion, looking through that hole shows you truth."
"Does it work also with that spell of changed identity?" asked his father smiling.
"I don't think so," answered mother. "It's true change of body, not an illusion."
"Sounds interesting," said Kelly. "So is it a good story about?"
"Thanks to that spell you were born," explained mother. "You read that book about Hexenbiester and you know, I wrote that book. But your father's family had another books about Hexenbiester once. It was also because of me, he lost them in flames. So I agreed to write new Grimm's textbook about what I know."
"How could it be because of you?" asked Kelly uncomprehendingly.
"I hope, you remember from that book, Grimm's blood can took away Hexenbiest powers, like killing Hexenbiest inside her, leaving just normal Kehrsaite woman, but with experience to use magic, very probably wanting revenge on that Grimm," father started to explain.
"It was something I'm not proud of," said mother. "I was young and stupid and really in love with Sean Renard. He asked me to obtain for him something from Nick, by tricking Nick. My spell was slowly killing his partner Hank, so he, together with Rosalee and Monroe, decided to destroy my powers to save Hank's life."
"Uncle Monroe and aunt Rosalee?" asked Kelly.
"Yea," agreed Adalind. "I wanted my powers back and I wanted revenge on Nick. So Diana appeared, I even made an contract to give her for exchange to got my powers back. One Austrian gypsy Hexenbiest made a spell, Contaminatio Ritualis, that restored my powers. But it needs another Hexenbiest to be killed. I'm not proud about, but I agreed and did it. Later I was on run with one Resistance member. We were chased by Royals, who wanted illegitimate princess to be with them. I would be either killed or separated from my daughter, so I decided to cooperate with Resistance and with Nick's mother, also a Grimm. I refused to sacrifice Diana, as I named my first daughter, to anybody. But her father made a dirty trick, together with your father and some friends. They pretended to Royals, as same as to me, that they gave her to prince Viktor. But they attacked prince Viktor same day and forced him to hand Diana them. So for first year Diana was raised by Kelly Burkhardt and I needed my revenge on Nick again."
Father smiled and made face expression like 'it's a long time history'.
"It's complicated like the Wars of the Roses," said Kelly. "And me?"
"There is a spell, named Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester. Hexenbiest, who lost her powers because of Grimm blood and restore them by Contaminatio Ritualis, can take away Grimms powers. It needs to change Hexenbiest's visage into another person, then having sex with that Grimm. I used turning into Juliette, Nick's girlfriend that time. And, well, you were an unexpected side result of that spell."
"So, am I an accident or even incident?" asked Kelly unbelievingly. "Really side dish to one's self-confidence."
"It was on the beginning," said his mother defensively. "I was with royals and they wanted to catch Diana. In Portland I found, your father is a Grimm again, as his girlfriend turned into me and they reversed the spell, with help of Elizabeth."
"Well, did you ever consider about partner therapy?" asked Kelly with mischievous smile.
Nick and Adalind both laughed.
"It's not so easy, Juliette was also changed. As side effect she became Hexenbiest, even more powerful, than me," explained his mother.
"And she tried to kill your mother," added his father. "She pay no attention about she wanted to kill a pregnant woman. At least child was innocent. When I stopped her before ripping Adalind's neck, she decided to betray me and my mother. She helped royal prince Kenneth to entice Kelly Burkhardt to Portland. Prince Kenneth with Hundjägers killed my mother, I executed him and with friends we killed Hundjägers working for king, being in city. But your grandmother was dead and your mother decided to give you her name as homage. I was sure that time, Juliette was killed by Trubel, when trying to kill me. But she was revived and later worked for Hadrian's Wall, to repress wesen Black Claw upraising."
Nick looked to be lost in memories…
"We agreed with Adalind to raise you together. We've both love you and after some time we found, that we're able not only to be your parents, but also to love each other. Your mother is cleverer, than me, so she founded it sooner."
"So, it's why I'm older for two years, than Cathy, and Diana is only one year older to me?" asked Kelly.
"Saying simply, yes. But there is also an second factor. During upraising, Black Claw forced your mother to leave me. She escaped with you to Sean Renard. If they won, you would be named Kelly Renard now and learn, how to hunt for wesen not loyal to Black Claw government. They got Diana to Sean Renard, Diana wanted to have family with both parents and paid no attention to interests of any other person. She helped to blackmail Adalind. Thankfully it was us, who won. We forced Sean Renard to collaborate with us. Sean Renard has perfect ability to be useful for anybody and yes, he was effective helping us track down Black Claw members. He agreed with Joint Custody for Diana. We made our best to remoralize her."
"I'm not sure, how well you did it," said Kelly with misgiving.
"Well," smiled Nick. "She is pampered and sometimes obnoxious, but in the beginning she was a real monster."
"Daddy Nick!" screamed Diana, appearing like from nowhere. "Why you say such horrible things about me?!"
"Because of truth," snuffed out Nick. "What we told you about hearing, what is not for your ears? Was it a case of life or death? No, so, go to Elizabeth. What we said, was strictly only for Kelly, so no complaints."
Diana left in tears, so Nick called:
"Back, now!"
When she returned, Nick clarified to her:
"Your crocodile tears do not work on me. Go to Elizabeth now and say her, I need some extra lessons of self-control for you. If you wish, you can move to Renard place for as long, as you want to."
Adalind opened mouth to say something, but Nick stopped her by raising hand:
"Don't worry, she is such a perfect copy of Sean Renard character, that they're not able to stay together much longer, then we agreed in Joint Custody agreement."
Diana slammed the door, when leaving.
Kelly smiled and asked:
"And that Juliette?"
"She decided, maybe to punish herself or so, to completely disappear. She turned into Adalind view for good. Now she guards and shadows Sean Renard, so we can be sure, he doesn't play on his own. Or at least not so easy. You could recognize her, she has shorter hair, than mum and usually is all the time in black. She promised to help you, if being in danger, but better do not rely on it a lot. She even once reappeared as Juliette, when somebody accused me to be guilty in her dead. She came to precinct, said, that she is alive and that she decided to leave me, because I have a baby from an random affair and because I chose that mother over Juliette. Nobody asked any other question."
"Such an usual family," smiled Kelly and exhaled…
TO BE CONTINUED...
one suitable day