Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable.
It was late, and raining, and he didn't even know if the man he was looking for was still in business; but John was going to try and find him, for the sake of Sherlock's boredom.
It took him half the night- during which time Sherlock believed he was asleep in his room- to find the newest residence of the 'old man' he sought, but once he found it he knew that he had come to the right place.
Knock! Knock!
"Undertaker? I know you're in there, I can smell you just on the other side of the door, so open up!" The door opened a crack, just enough to show John that he was being allowed inside, and so the Demon in man form headed into the darkness and out of the street.
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"And just where are we going?" The disgruntled Consulting Detective whined as their taxi took another turn, heading them further into London's East End.
"I told you earlier." The blonde sitting next to him said as he turned curious- yet non-judgemental- eyes on his flatmate.
"Don't tell me you erased it already? Sherlock, I told you less than an hour ago!" Truthfully he was more in awe than upset- who wouldn't be with a man that could willfully forget the simplest of things on command- but he had to maintain the illusion of humanity, and that illusion dictated his being upset.
"God, Sherlock! We are going to The Undertaker's shop, like I told you before, and please don't erase it this time as I don't fancy explaining it to you once more."
"Fine. But just who is this undertaker, and why are we visiting his shop?"
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"So this is the pretty one that little Johnny was telling me about? Very pretty indeed! He, he!" Sherlock followed the excentric man in the top hat around the room with his eyes, never moving from his spot, and still pondering what John had said in the taxi ride over to this rundown shop.
"Not 'an' undertaker, 'The Undertaker'. He is an old acquaintance that I have recently retouched base with, and I thought that the two of you might just hit it off. After all, you both like playing with body parts." The Demon had then shot Sherlock a challenging look.
"But of course there is always the possibility that you won't pass his test and won't be allowed to spend time with him and the massive amount of unique and exotic information he has stock-piled." John already knew him too well, he realized in that moment, the doctor knew he couldn't turn away from the possibility of learning something new and interesting.
And he had to admit that the fact that John seemed to be trying to help him make friends with new people- no matter how doomed such a project would actually be- was quite... endearing, though of course he would never say so out loud.
And now he was in this dingy little shop, surrounded by caskets- sitting on one in fact- drinking tea out of a beaker- not nearly as good as John's was, but then so few things were- and eating a bone shaped biscuit while watching the odd proprietor move about.
He didn't want to admit it, but this man- The Undertaker, as seemed to be his only moniker- was quite intriguing.
"Very very pretty indeed, but I still don't see what I can be of help here for." It came out more as a question than a statement, and was solely directed at John.
Taking another sip of his tea, Sherlock waited for the doctor's answer as he wished to hear it himself.
"Um... I was hoping that you two might get on? Sherlock likes to solve puzzles, and you like providing information- at a price, at least." Ah, now he saw it! John had actually been trying to set him up with a new informant without letting him know that the good doctor once had ties to the Underworld!
He would have to remember to applaud John later for his dissembling skills, he hadn't picked up on anything untoward earlier.
"Yes, but can the pretty one pay? He seems far to serious to do so." As eyes- meticulously hidden by long bangs- scrutinized him, Sherlock scrutinized right back.
Before John could say a word to tell him what the mysterious 'price' would entail he had it deduced, as well as the most straight forward means of paying.
"Farfug-nugen." He said, and was met by a blank stare.
The stare held for all of three seconds.
"HA HA HA HA! HO HO HE HE, HA Ha ha ha..." And so on for several minutes.
Once he calmed down enough to where he was only partly giggling, The Undertaker wandered back over to his guests and took Sherlock's hand warmly in his own.
"I haven't laughed like that since the butler stopped coming by with his little Master. You, sir, are welcome here anytime." Backing up he plopped down on a coffin of his own and took a sip of his cold tea.
"So... is their anything you would care to know? Or was this simply a social visit as little Johnny implied that it would be?" Wanting to know just what sort of information that this new informant might provide him with, Sherlock leaned forward to ask:
"And just how did you come to be in the undertaking business, Mr. Undertaker?" As the 'old man' gave a sharp grin, John stood.
"I think you two have this well in hand, so I doubt that I am needed. I'll see you at home Sherlock, goodbye 'Taker." Leaving out the back door he took to the roof tops to meet with the one who had trailed them all the way from Baker street.
"Don't look so glum, he won't go far. He can't!" Shooting a now suspicious glare at the interesting person he had been left with- Had they walked into someone's trap? And if so, who's?- he only received a wide smile in return.
"You really haven't figured it out yet, have you?" Getting uneasy at the thought that something had passed him by without his realizing it, Sherlock prodded further into what the silver-haired man meant.
"And just what don't I know?" He finally broke down enough to ask.
The sudden loud peals of laughter that rang through the small shop did nothing to appease Sherlock's growing unease.
And the revelations about his friend and flatmate that came once the laughter died down didn't help him much either.
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The creäture he was following was fast as they raced across the roof tops of London, John could have easily caught it if he didn't know that it was trying to lead him somewhere- most likely to the one who had sent it to watch them in the first place.
As they reached the docks John became aware of a presence that he really hoped he was not being lead to, and the creäture scuttled inside of a derelict building with John not a moment behind.
Skidding to a halt, the demon came face to face with the owner of the nasty presence he had felt, much to his displeasure.
"John! I'm sooo glad you could make it! I'd had some fears that you wouldn't take my invitation you know." Giving the thing in front of him the once over, John decided to see what this was all about before he turned on his heel and left.
He had better things to do than chat with fallen Angels after all.
"You're probably wondering why I wanted you here, uh. Well you see, Johnny- I can call you Johnny can't I? It's not like that's even your real name, after all. And you can call me Jim, by the way. Hi!" The no-longer-really-an-angel Angel said as he began to saunter over to John with his hands in his pockets.
"You see Johnny, I have a venture coming up soon, and I need strong individuals like you to be a part of it. To take part in an event that will help to reshape the world as the cattle known as humanity knows it."
"And just what would my place in this venture be?" The Demon inquired as Jim drew closer.
"Oh, you know, helping to eradicate all human military and medical installations, helping to thin the herd of all the culls of society. Basically you'd be helping to enslave the human race." Bouncing on his heels, and looking very pleased with himself as if he hadn't just casually mentioned causing mass death and terror across the globe, Jim waited for John's response.
Though it wasn't one he was happy with.
"No thanks, I quite like humanity the way it is. Lots of good food, and plenty of entertainment- sometimes all in the same package. So no deal Jim." Taking a sudden swipe at the too close Angel John was surprised at how quickly the fallen-one managed to dodge him, almost like Jim had seen the attack coming.
"Hmm, perhaps you should think things over for a while. I'll be in touch, 'Doctor'." With that Jim took off in a flurry of feathers, leaving John alone with his thoughts.
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Returning to the flat later that evening, with several bags from the Tesco around the corner, John knew instantly that Mycroft was inside as well as Sherlock- and that they were both highly upset.
Pausing on the street he listened in to their fight for a minute.
"I can't believe you would sic a demon on me like this! The least you could have done is to tell me, I can think of a dozen experiments I could have been performing on a real life demon, but you had to go and try to keep him a secret!"
"Sherlock, I did it for your own good. You need protection that I just can not provide, and he was the best option I had." Deciding that a dramatic entrance would be perfect right about now he quickly made his was up the seventeen steps and through the door.
"O, hello." He said with a grin as he put the groceries away.
"John, I know you're a demon now, so you can stop the whole goody-goody attitude." Sherlock said as he sank on to the sofa with a huff.
"He can't do that little brother, he is contractually obligated to take care of you" Mycroft stated in his most pompous manner.
"Actually I'm not. At least, not any more." John said as he came into the sitting room with tea for all.
As Mycroft drew himself up for a proper tiff, John grabbed the copy of their over long contract that Sherlock had obviously swiped from his brother's flat.
Turning to the page he wanted he presented it so that both Holmes's could read the passage he wanted.
'In the event of a catastrophe that would destroy the English way of life all contractual obligations will be recended until the event has been taken care of and order restored once more.'
As the two read this Sherlock began to smirk.
"A bit vague in your wording their, My?" Relaxing just a bit as John shared his amusement, Sherlock turned to see what his brother's reaction would be.
"That will only apply if England is in danger." He tried to reason as he realized just how big a mistake he had placed in the sensitive document- if this passage was activated then the contract was null and void, and the Demon could kill him and Sherlock both and feast on their souls at his leisure!
"I was approached today by a fallen Angel named Jim, he is going to try to kill off most of humanity and enslave the rest. I'm fairly certain that this falls under the category of catastrophe." John placed the, now useless, contract on the table and stepped back to sit in his chair to drink his rapidly cooling tea.
"And just where does that leave us?" Mycroft asked as he tried to put himself between the demon he had invited in and his little brother.
"Us? Well... I'd say that it leaves us with a suspended contract, an upcoming event of apocalyptic proportions and a crazed fluff-ball that needs to be taken down." Sipping his tea slowly he stretched out Mycroft's unease a bit longer, up until Sherlock ruined the moment by giggling.
Stifling his own mirth, John gave Mycroft a very pointed look.
"This isn't the only loophole you provided me with- I could get out of our contract at anytime that I so wish- but I'm not going to exploit this one at this time." Mycroft gave him a confused look as Sherlock moved around him to sit in his own chair opposite his new-found Demon.
"And why not? Demon's are not known for being loyal out side of a contractual binding. So why would you not take this opportunity?" Mycroft asked. He could see the answers in front of him, but for once he didn't trust his own observational skills to be telling him the truth.
Tilting his mug towards Sherlock John indicated that the detective should verbalize what his brother was having such a hard time accepting.
"He likes me, My, he thinks of me as an honorary Demon. And he needs my help to take down this 'Jim' character." Steepling his fingers together, Sherlock struck his thinking pose with a rarely seen gleeful smirk on his face.
"I do believe that this case is going to rank an eleven on his scale of interest." The ginger-haired man said as he picked up the bound contract- he would be going over it very carefully, looking for any other poorly worded sections he may have accidentally put in.
"So our contract..."
"Is still in full effect, but will remain suspended until the threat Jim poses is abolished. Don't worry Mycroft, I won't let anything happen to our boy." Giving a sharp nod, Mycroft strode out of the flat before he could give in to the urge to grab his baby brother and run.
He would just need to accept that Sherlock's fate- all their fates really- now resided in the hands of a Demon. A Demon that had recently shown that it could be duplicitous, as evidenced by the loopholes within their contract.
"John?"
"Yes, Sherlock."
"If you weren't a Demon, and you weren't..." Leaning forward John rested a comforting hand on Sherlock's knee.
"Even without the contract- even if I were human- I'd still always be here for you, I will always be your friend Sherlock." Sharing a smile they then got down to the business at hand: bring Sherlock up to date on matters concerning the occult.
"And we can go talk to Undertaker tomorrow, he might be able to tell us more about Jim. Or at least let us know if there are any new rumors flying around."
"Is he a Demon too? I was so wrapped up in learning about you that I didn't even think to ask." Chuckling slightly, John reassured his friend.
"No, he's no Demon." Turning away from the tall detective, but keeping him fully in his peripheral vision, the Demon laid another shock on Sherlock that night- one of many to come.
"He's really a retired Grim Reaper." It took all of twelve seconds before a response was forthcoming.
"You mean Grim Reapers are real!" Chuckling at the indignant response, John decided then and there that even if they couldn't save the world he would find a way to save Sherlock Holmes.