Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was late at night in Portland, Oregon, with an old man flipping the sign of his store; “Bertram Estate Jewelry”, to closed before locking the front door then turns off the lights as he was closing for the night. Across the street, sat a car with three men inside who were focused on the jewelry store, each putting on a clear face plastic mask then getting their weapons ready before existing the car and make their way across the street.

The three masked men proceed to kick down the door, startling the owner who was behind the front desk looking over his inventory, especially when the trio opens fire. Acting quickly, the older man ducks and runs towards the back, barely avoiding the gunfire. The store owner then makes his way to a large safe, which he heads inside as the men fire at him again, closing the door in time, but winces when he notices one of the bullets had grazed his shoulder.

The old man grits his teeth as a strange wave ripples over his face, morphing into what looked to be a foxlike creature, before returning to normal and then turns his attention to a cabinet in the safe that he approaches and opens. Looking through the many things stored inside, the man’s eyes stop on a particular medium sized metal box with a lock on it, which he reaches for and picks up.

Gazing down at the box, his attention was drawn back to the safe door as he heard a drilling sound coming from the other side, no doubt the robbers. Knowing well that it was only a matter of time before they got in, the old man places the box down and brings out a key that was hung around his neck with a chain, which he proceeds to use to unlock the box and open it, seeing the item held inside.

“Don’t worry… They’ll try, but they won’t get you. I won’t let them.” He swears.

Meanwhile, the three robbers had drilled a hole into the safe door before setting up explosives through the hole made. They then back away before detonating, blowing the safe open and allowing them in. Inside they found the store owner lying face-first on the floor, dead, shrapnel in his back and his hand laid on top of the now closed metal box with the key lying next to it.

“Grab anything and everything you can and let’s go!” The leader tells the other two and they begin filling their bags with the stuff of the safe, while the lead guy approaches the dead man, his focus though on the box, which he picks up along with the key. “Finally…” He says with clear excitement in his voice as he stares down at the mysterious box reverently.

Later, the police arrived at the scene to investigate, among them were detectives Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin.

“Damn, I know this place. Bought my second engagement ring from this guy.” Hank remarks as he and Nick get out his car and approach the store, where they ran into Sergeant Drew Wu.

“Hey, looks like they came in through the front door just after he closed for the night.” He informs the two detectives as they pass the police tape to the front door of the store.

“Find a body?” Hank asks.

“Oh, yeah. Samuel Bertram.” Wu answers then enters the store.

“Ah, I was afraid of that.” Hank groans as he and Nick follow the sergeant inside.

“He’s in the vault. Probably thought he was safe… In the safe.” Wu then tells them as they make their way through the shop.

“Surveillance tape?” Nick then inquires.

“Thieves found the camera, ripped it out of the wall. Probably took it with them.” The sergeant says in response as they reach the vault, many of its contents now gone from the shelves and cabinets, and found the dead owner inside. The two detectives put on latex gloves as they enter to investigate.

“This was a professional job.” Nick notices right away.

“Yeah, they knew what they were doing.” Hank agrees as he leans down next to the now deceased Sam Bertram. “Sam was a big-time antique collector.” He says.

“So he liked old artifacts.” Nick remarks as he picks up a silver candelabra. “I can only imagine how much the stuff in here could be worth on the black market.” He then says while looking over the intricate designs of the antique.

Meanwhile, the three thieves that robbed the store and had killed Bertram, were now at their house hideout, looking through their score. Well, two of them were, the leader was focused solely on the box he retrieved from the dead Fuchsbau. He smiles to himself as he takes the key in hand and unlocks the box then opens it, only to frown when he discovers it empty.

“NO!” He exclaims, knocking the box to the floor in rage.

“What is it?” The second thief asks.

“It wasn’t in the box!” The leader yells at them in frustration.

“What?” The third man questions as he checks the empty metal box.

“Maybe it’s in one of the other boxes.” The second guy suggests and the two of them frantically check said other boxes, though they don’t seem to find what they were looking for.

“It’s not here.” The leading man states with an aggravated tone as he walks over to a table with a liquor bottle, pouring himself a glass.

“That can’t be! It has to be!” The second man says as he continues searching.

“It was in the vault! That’s what you said! We got everything from it!” The third follows up as the leader downs his drink.

“Then where the hell is it?” The second guy questions, then notices the leader staring at him. “Why are you looking at me like that? What? You think I took it or something? How can I hide it?” He says, clearly rattled.

“You’re right… It must still be back at the shop. That fox must have hidden it.” The lead man says as he approaches the front door.

“Where are you going?” The second man asks.

“I’m going back.” The leader answers dismissively, the third following him but is stopped by the second.

“What are you doing? I’m going with him.” He says, annoyed.

“You two are not leaving me here alone.” The second man states.

“It’s not like he can hide it!” The third exclaims, his face changing to a jackal like creature. “You know what will happen if we meet with him, but don’t have it, as he requested.” He states, the second barely holding back a flinch as he woges himself. Just then, the two heard the backdoor opening.

“That can’t be him already…” The second man states as he and the third take out their handguns, then go to investigate, splitting up in the process.

The two men move through the dark house, not finding any sign of their partner though did feel a third presence within, the duo almost jumping at shadows at this point, the second swearing he saw something move though it was too fast to get a good look. The third man checks the back door, though doesn’t seem to find anything when he feels something…

He switches on the lights, but again finds nothing. He then moves back to the front room of the house. The two men arrive back in the room they started, when both see something moving towards them, they open fire only to both fall to the floor, dead. The lights turn back on and a new figure walks between the deceased duo, having a bird-like appearance before reverting to human form, revealing a man with a stern face and silver hair.

As this was occurring, the robbery team’s leader had returned to the scene of crime, finding the police force surrounding it, Sam Bertram’s body in a bag being loaded into a van. In other words, there was no way he was getting back in anytime soon.

“Which one of these stores has a surveillance camera covering the street?” Hank asks as he and Nick come out of the store.

“There’s a bank on the corner. Start with that, work your way down. If we’re lucky.” Nick tells him as they proceed to cross the street.

“You want the footage at the precinct?” Wu inquires as he catches up to the two detectives as they head for Hank’s car.

“ASAP,” Hank says in response.

As they got to the other side of the street, the robber turns around, with his woge activating, which Nick takes note of, causing him to freeze in place as he sees the Wesen’s reflection in a nearby store window. He isn’t sure what kind the man is, but he had a suspicion it had something to do with the crime. The man’s visage then returns to human form before he turns and starts walking away. Nick follows him as he turns a corner, finding the man getting in a car then driving away.

“Damn it, I saw that car.” Nick sighs then swears, having returned to the precinct with Hank and Wu, the three of them checking the security footage they managed to scrounge up of the jewelry store robbery.

“What?” Hank asks as he and Wu turn their attention to Nick.

“Yeah, the guy we passed on the street tonight—He was driving that car.” The detective recounts, watching the surveillance as said guy and two others were seen exiting the car and heading for the store in question.

“Hold up.” Wu says as he walks over and zooms the image on the car license plate. “Most of it. New York plates. Long way from home.” He sarcastically remarks as the image clears up to reveal the numbers on the plate.

“They’re probably bogus, but run them anyway.” Hank instructs.

“Yeah, and put out an APB.” Nick adds when his desk phone rings and he answers it, having a good idea who it was. “Harper, we get you out of bed for nothing?” He answers the forensic medical examiner.

“If you did, Nick, I wouldn’t be calling.” Dr. Harper says in response.

Meanwhile, the robber had made it back to the house hideout, which he enters, only to find both his cohorts lying dead on the floor. Immediately on alert, the man draws his own gun and goes to inspect the house, only to freeze when upon hearing a floorboard creak followed by a voice.

“Don’t you wish you hadn’t come back?” The voice, a man’s, taunts.

“You killed them.” The robber puts together, lowering his gun as the man who entered the house earlier appears behind him with a gun of his own, aimed at the other man’s head.

“Ironically, they killed each other.” He states, keeping a hand on the thief’s shoulder while also taking his gun. “It was dark.” He adds as he goes back behind the other man, gun still trained on him.

“I thought I saw you in Lisbon.” The robber remarks.

“Yeah, that was my mistake.” The other man admits.

“It isn’t here.” The thief then states.

“Figured that out. So where is it?” His captor replies then questions, serious.

“If I knew, you think I would have come back? And not directly, to him?” The robber questions.

“I don’t know. So many have done the most extreme things, just to possess it. Although, it doesn’t usually end well.” The other man states. “Face down on the floor.” He then orders as he practically pushes the thief to the floor, next to one of his dead partners. “Now…” The greying haired man starts as he pulls over a chair. “Why don’t we start…” He then sits down in said chair. “With what the hell are we doing in Portland?” He questions, leaving no room for argument.

“I caught up with Stanislav in Morocco…” The robber begins.

“The blast didn’t kill him. Didn’t help him much. But that wasn’t specifically what did him in.” Dr. Harper informs Nick and Hank when they arrived at the coroner’s, finding the late Sam Bertram laying on a table, his body mostly covered by a sheet except for his face. “I wasn’t sure at first, but then I discovered one of his lungs had been pierced, though not by shrapnel.” She explains.

“Wait, if not from the shrapnel from the explosion, then by what?” Nick questions, confused.

“By this,” Harper says as she pulls over a smaller metal table and the two detectives focus on the object on top of it.

Laid out on the table was a metallic right-hand gauntlet that appeared to extend to elbow length with overlapping layers, similar to scales, claw-like fingertips, and a large metal bulbous on the back of the hand itself.

“What in the world…?” Hank asks while Nick was quiet as he stared at the glove.

“When I was examining him, I found it under his shirt. Seems he fell on it when the vault blew and the resulting impact caused it to be lodged into his ribcage and punctured his lung.” The ME explains-recounts.

“That’s a way to go…” Hank says with a wince. “What even is it?” He then asks.

“A gauntlet, like one that’s a part of a set of armor…” Nick answers, remembering seeing similar stuff, usually in museums and stories about knights. “Looks pretty old…” He then remarks, something about the design of it he couldn’t help but find mesmerizing.

“Bertram did have a thing for ancient artifacts.” Hank recalls then turns to Harper. “Where did you say you found that again?” He inquires.

“Hidden under his shirt. It must be very valuable if he was that desperate to hide it, especially considering it lead to his death.” The medical examiner replies.

“All for a gauntlet? Seriously…” Hank’s voice seems to trail off as Nick stares at the mysterious armor-glove. Something about it seemed, familiar…? Almost like he’d seen it before, but he couldn’t tell from where. It also felt like it was drawing him in…

Without thinking, he reaches out to touch the gauntlet, when the metal bulbous on top shifts and opens, like an eye, revealing a large blue jewel inside of it. Nick’s breath then hitches as he feels his consciousness being pulled in by the gleam of the gemstone and many images flash in his mind; a burning object falling from the sky, a glowing blue gem surrounded by rock as it’s held up, then a number of male figures wearing the gauntlet and/or a bracelet—in many different styles, though all with a large blue jewel on it—many of which appeared to be on a battlefield.

“Nick…? Nick!!” A voice calls, snapping the detective out of his strange trance, finding his partner and the ME looking at him strangely. “You okay, man? You looked out of it. Also, since when do you touch evidence without gloves on?” Hank questions, himself wearing latex gloves and holding an open evidence bag.

“Uh, I, uh…” Nick stammers left rattled and confused by whatever he just experienced. He looks to the gauntlet again, seeing something akin to a flame burning in the gem as it seemed to stare at him, making him jump back in shock.

“Nick, are you all right?” Hank asks, concerned for his partner who seemed on edge, even Harper looked worried. The other detective doesn’t reply and rubs his face of the sweat that started dripping down it. “Um, well, since this is evidence we need to bag it. I’ll take care of it.” The black man states as he proceeds to pick up the gauntlet and put it in the evidence bag.

“Y-Yeah, you handle it, please…” Nick says, honestly still unsettled, jumping again upon hearing his phone ring, calming himself before answering it. “Burkhardt,” He greets the person on the other line. “Okay.” He says then ends the call. “They found the car. Let’s go.” He says and speed walks out of the room, Hank behind him while Harper stares at Nick before looking back to the late Sam Bertram.

The two detectives drive to where the car of the robber was located, finding another officer there who they approach.

“What do we have?” Nick asks the policeman in his squad car.

“Where is it?” Hank then follows up.

“BMW’s in front. Only house on the block.” The officer in the car tells them.

“Anybody go in or out?” Nick inquires.

“No. Not while I was here.” The officer replies.

“All right, let’s head in. Hank and I will enter through the front, you cover the back.” Nick says quickly and moves towards the house, Hank looking perplexed before following after his partner.

“Nick, you sure you’re okay? You seem on edge.” Hank asks him.

“I’ll feel a lot better when we arrest these guys.” Nick replies as he draws his gun and continues his way towards the house.

Inside the house the robber was still being held at gunpoint on the floor by the mystery man who led his two partners to killing each other.

“Soledad, if the jeweler’s had it, then where is the gauntlet now?” The man with the gun questions.

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here. That’s why I went back. But the cops were all over the place.” The thief says in frustration, causing him to woge into his Wesen form then gets up, only to see the other man at the front door looking out its window.

“Police.” The man tells him and the robber quickly turns and runs out the back of the house, just as the officer arrives and witnesses the man hop over the back porch railing.

“Stop! Police!” He yells but the Wesen robber keeps on going, heading for and jumping over the metal fence and into the nearby parking lot.

Meanwhile, Nick and Hank enter the house through the front door, finding the grey haired man standing in the middle of the room, both his hands raised and a calm expression on his face.

“Police! Don’t move!” Hank warns as he approaches the man, keeping his gun trained on him as he searches the man’s pockets. “Got a gun.” He informs Nick who was looking over the two dead thieves. “On the floor.” He then pushes the man to the ground and gestures to Nick, who comes over.

“All right, hands above your head, come on.” The Grimm-detective tells the man as he pulls him up and goes to cuff him, when the man woges, stunning Nick. The man looks at him with his bird-eyes, though unlike many Wesen didn’t react with fear, actually he didn’t react much at all as he shifted back to human. Deciding to shake it off, he handcuffs the man, just as the officer comes in.

“There was another one. Escaped out the back.” He tells the two detectives.

“What happened?” Hank asks as he walks over to the officer.

“He was fast. I’ve never seen anyone run like that.” The policeman answers.

“Did you at least get a look at his face?” The detective inquires.

“No. He was moving too fast. I didn’t get a good enough look.” The officer replies.

“Darn it…” Hank curses then turns back to the two dead men on the floor. “Still, we do have a crime scene here.” He remarks.

“Officer Brenner, we’ll need you to get a coroner up here.” Nick then tells the policeman, who nods and heads out the door. “On your feet. Let’s go.” He then says to the handcuffed man as he “assists” him in standing up then leads him out the house, Hank following behind.

Back at the precinct, Nick and Hank arrived with their suspect, who they found was named Farley Kolt, leading him to the interrogation room, Nick practically pushing him inside.

“We’re gonna need you to wait in here for a bit, Kolt.” He tells the man before closing the door then turns to Hank. “Okay, now that he’s taken care of, you should get that, thing, down to evidence.” He says to his partner, stumbling over talking about the gauntlet, which Hank was currently carrying.

“Seriously, Nick, what’s up? You’ve been on edge since seeing it back at the ME’s office.” The black man questions, starting to get worried, his partner’s eyes being drawn to said item in the evidence bag, feeling like the eye-like gem was staring at him again.

“I don’t know… Just, something about it…it gives me a strange feeling. Please, just take it down.” Nick replies then practically pleads. Just then, their boss, Captain Sean Renard, walks up to them with a folder in hand.

“I just got the prelim on the jewelry store. I want you guys to fill me in in my office…” He says but then trails off when he notices the gauntlet in the evidence bag. “What is that?” He inquires and Hank holds it up higher.

“Evidence in that very case. Apparently, Bertram was trying to hide this and it ended up being the death of him.” The detective explains, Nick remaining quiet as his eyes were fixated on the object, which Renard takes notice of.

“Bring that to my office. I’d like to take a closer look at it.” He says then turns and walks toward said office, the two detectives following after him, Nick managing to tear his gaze from the gauntlet and into the interrogation room, Kolt no longer was restrained and was staring at him with a neutral expression.

“That’s when we got the call on the car. We went to the house they were using as a hideout, found Kolt and two of the robbers dead. Officer Brenner said he saw someone go out the back but he was moving so fast that he didn’t get a good look at him, so he’s still in the wind.” Hank informs, he and Nick stood in the captain’s office, the gauntlet laid out on top the man’s desk as he puts on some gloves.

“What about this then?” Renard inquires as he carefully pulls the gauntlet out of the bag and holds it up to get a better look, Nick shifting slightly before speaking.

“According to Harper, Sam Bertram hid it under his shirt. When the vault blew he fell down, right on it, and it pierced into his lung… Killing him.” He informs, the captain looking at him before turning his attention to the metal glove.

“That would explain the blood…” He remarks, noting the bloodied finger tips/claws of the gauntlet as he checks over the gauntlet’s design, his eyes zeroing in on the blue jewel on the hand.

“What do you make of it, Captain?” Hank then asks.

“Ancient, definitely ancient…” Renard replies, then notes his two detectives looking at him questioningly. “I studied a bit on antiques for a time, and what I can tell you is this gauntlet is very old, and most definitely valuable as a historic artifact. Probably dates back to the medieval period, maybe even before that…” He explains then says as he continues studying the armored glove.

“Along with being a jeweler, Bertram was a big antique collector.” Hank recounts.

“Anything in his store that could tell us more about it?” Renard then asks.

“Nothing concrete. Whatever it is, he went through a lot of trouble to hide it.” The detective replies as Nick’s eyes were once again drawn to the item, recalling the images it seemed to spark within him.

“Burkhardt,” A voice speaks, snapping the Grimm back to reality. “Are you all right?” The police captain asks, noting the detective’s far off expression.

“Yeah, just… Just, gonna go… Question the suspect.” Nick stammers as he scrambles to leave the office and head for the interrogation room.

“What’s with him?” Renard asks, baffled by his detective’s behavior.

“I don’t know, he’s been out of it since the ME. Says that he gets a strange feeling from the gauntlet… Whatever that means.” Hank replies, not noticing the look on the captain’s face, who glances at Nick then down to the gauntlet.

“You’re dismissed, detective. I’ll handle getting this into evidence.” He says.

“You sure? As the one who’s been holding onto it, it’s technically my responsibility.” Hank questions.

“It’s been a long day, and you still need to work on your report about all this.” The captain says in response and his detective shrugs.

“Right. After which, I’m heading home. Night, sir.” He says then leaves the office, heading for his desk. As soon as he was out, Renard picks up his phone and dials a number.

“Oui?” A man’s voice greets in French from the other end of the line.

“(It’s me. You won’t believe what just came into my possession… Das Hexenmeisterschwert,)” He tells the man, speaking in French, who goes quiet.

“(Are you positive?)” The man he was talking to asks in shock and disbelief.

“(Absolutely. It’s just as the legends described…)” Renard replies while still looking down at the gauntlet.

“(Listen to me. I’d be careful if I were you… The saber is said to be volatile, has a will of its own… Even with your people’s history with it, I wouldn’t try anything.)” The French man on the other line advises.

“(No point. It looks like it’s already got its eye on another…)” Sean replies as his gaze is drawn to Detective Nick’s form as the man enters the interrogation room.

“Farley Kolt.” Nick greets the man, currently sat at the table in the room, as he enters, making sure the door was closed.

“Imagine my surprise. I thought you were just a cop.” Kolt remarks as Nick circles around the table to the other side.

“Right now, that’s all you need to worry about.” He tells the Wesen man, now standing across from him.

“I’m not worried. Ballistics will prove that Flynn and Hans shot each other.” Kolt states, not even seeming fazed.

“Flynn and Hans.” Nick repeats the names as he sits down.

“Ian Flynn. Irish by way of Berlin. Hans Roth, Austrian. They both worked with a Spaniard, Soledad Marquesa.” Kolt explains.

“Who got away.” Nick puts together.

“Yep. Been following them for a long time. Finally caught up with them tonight, but, uh…” The man continues only to trail off with a mouth click.

“And why were you following them?” The Grimm questions. Farley, for the time, seemed nervous as he looked out the door window before turning back to Nick.

“It would be helpful if we could talk off the record. Is this being recorded?” He says then asks.

“No. I want to give you a chance to come clean.” Nick replies and the man relaxes.

“Look, this has nothing to do with you being a cop, you know. Really, I could care less. This has to do with who you are and who I am. You’re not the only Grimm I’ve ever known. In fact, the reason I’m here is because of a Grimm… Kind of.” Kolt says and the detective got a feeling from his words.

“Tell me about the gauntlet.” Nick then demands, hoping for answers.

“The Knight-Saber…” Farley says and Nick felt his breath hitch for a second. “At least, that’s what it’s mostly known as. It may not look it at first glance, but it’s an ancient weapon, one that a lot of people died trying to get their hands on.” He states.

“What is it? Where’d it come from?” The Grimm-detective asks next.

“That my friend is a long, complicated story…” Kolt says and Nick gestures for him to continue. “Fact is, nobody really knows where it came from, many stories say it fell from the stars, but what is known, is its power… Throughout history that thing has been worn by many different people, quite a few of them becoming famous historical figures we still talk about today, for better and worse…

“See, the power it grants its bearer, quite a few became worshipped for it, but just as many were persecuted for it; either by those who didn’t understand, those who were afraid of the powers of the bearer, or those who wanted the saber’s power for themselves. As a result, quite a few were branded as practitioners of the dark arts and executed in the…” 

“…Witch Trials…” Nick cuts him off as he puts it together.

“Exactly, though that was mostly because of some foolish Wesen and men who wanted to control women… Ironically, many bearers of the Knight-Saber were Zauberbiests.” Kolt continues but pauses when he notices Nick’s confused look. “Zauberbiests, you know, the male equivalent of Hexenbiests?” He explains. “Wow, you must have just awakened your Grimm side to not know that.” He then remarks and Nick sighs, knowing he was right.

“So, it’s a magic weapon that’s been wielded by Wesen?” The Grimm theorizes.

“Sometimes, but most of the time its bearer is a human, though always male—no one knows why on that part—it also has chosen some Grimm to wield it in the past.” Kolt replies and Nick furrows his brows.

“Wait, chosen? You’re saying this thing, chooses who wields it.” He emphasizes.

“That’s the rumor. It’s more than just a mystical artifact, it has a will of its own and when it finds a host that meets its standards, whatever those are, it bestows its vast and still mostly unknown powers onto them.” The Wesen man replies and Nick was stunned. “Also, like I said, many of said hosts end up going down in history…

“William the Conqueror of England… William Wallace of Scotland… Alexander the Great himself… Charlemagne, former emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, even the famous former slave and Thracian gladiator, Spartacus, plus so many others who history’s never even heard of… Simply put, the Knight-Saber, it gets around.

“And then during World War 2, Adolf Hitler himself caught wind of the saber and was desperate to get his hands on it. Only for it to apparently be a fake… At least that’s what some say. Others, say the rightful bearer stole it away before he could try anything with it.” He explains, again stunning the detective.

“Then after the war ended, it just disappeared. Nobody saw it resurface again for decades, some believing it was maybe buried or even destroyed… Until 18 years ago. Apparently, it fell into the protective hands of a Grimm… That was until she was found and murdered for it. After that, I have no idea where it’s been, until tonight.” The bird-like Wesen continues.

“Who was the Grimm that was killed? The one guarding the, saber?” Nick inquires and Kolt’s mood noticeably drops.

“She was the sister of the woman I was in love with. When her sister died, she left me in order to raise her sister’s son.” He explains and Nick felt his breath hitch as the story was very familiar to him.

“Where was this?” He inquires, trying his best to keep his emotions in check.

“Rhinebeck, New York.” Kolt answers. “Don’t keep me locked up here. I can see things even you can’t.” He then says and woges into his Wesen form.

“Impressive. That’s not enough to get you released.” Nick states as he gets up from the chair, Farley returning to his human form.

“You need my help to find the gauntlet.” Kolt states.

“Actually, no, I don’t. I already know where it is. In evidence. Apparently Samuel Bertram was trying to hide it, only for it to kill him.” Nick tells him, getting a bit frustrated and the bird-like Wesen’s expression shifts.

“That so? Tell me detective, have you come into contact with it? Do you feel drawn to it, like you should possess it? Did you experience something you can’t explain, when looking into its eye…?” He inquires, Nick staying silent but his face became tense, when a knock was heard on the room door and he looks up to see Wu through the window, so he walks over to said door.

“There’s one more thing you need to know, every man who’s ever worn the saber, were left marked by its power… Whether good, or bad…” Kolt then adds, Nick pausing for a sec, before opening the door and steps out the interrogation room to face his fellow officer.

“Officer Brenner never reported back from the crime scene, and he’s not responding to calls.” The sergeant informs Nick.

“You tell the captain?” The detective inquires.

“Yeah, just did.” Wu answers just as Nick notices Renard’s empty office.

“Where is he?” He asks.

“On his way to evidence.” The sergeant replies and the detective closes the room door, then the two walk back to their desks.

“I got a positive I.D. on the suspect who got away. Soledad Marquesa, he’s a Spanish National.” The detective relays.

“I’ll run it.” Wu says then heads for his desk, while Nick sits down at his. Feeling like a million thoughts were running inside his head at once.

After a moment, in which he glanced to the interrogation room, Nick then pulls up the search engine on his computer and looked up an auto accident that occurred in Rhinebeck, New York, in 1994, the one his parents died in when he was just 12 and was taken in by his Aunt Marie afterwards, finding a news article about the event. It was all too similar… Was it possible…? Before her own death, Marie did tell Nick that his parents were murdered. All for this, gauntlet…?

Curious, he then searched for anything pertaining to said gauntlet, apparently called the Knight-Saber, but all that did was lead to a dead-end. He sighs, because of course, but then a thought occurred to him, specifically the names of those who apparently wore it in the past. So he searches up said figures, starting with the Roman emperor, Charlemagne, aka Charles the Great. At first he didn’t find anything of note, but upon seeing a particular image of the king, a picture of an old painting, he enhances it to find what appears to be a silver bracelet with a blue gem on the man’s right wrist.

“No way…” He thought, recognizing the bracelet’s design from the strange vision he had back at the ME’s, and starts looking up the others next, finding at least one image of them that showed the men all wearing either a gauntlet or bracelet with a large blue jewel, just like the gauntlet brought in… The Knight-Saber. He then thought back to what else Kolt had told him.

“‘…have you come into contact with it? Do you feel drawn to it, like you should possess it? Did you experience something you can’t explain, when looking into its eye…?’ ‘…every man who’s ever worn the saber, were left marked by its power… Whether good, or bad…’” The Wesen man’s words ring in his ears as he tries to make sense of everything.

Hoping to find answers in the one place he feels he could, Nick heads to his late aunt’s trailer full of Grimm artifacts. So far it was the only place where he could find what he needs, ever since awakening as a Grimm. After a time of searching, he came upon the two Wesen he saw; Kolt being something called a Steinadler and Soledad a jackal-like creature called a Schakal. Unfortunately, the entries about said Wesen were written in German, thankfully he had someone who could help with that.

However, the real problem was he couldn’t seem to find anything on the Knight-Saber, considering that while he found images of it in history, they wasn’t anything he could find about it, which he won’t lie, put him on edge. He was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of knocking on the trailer door. Standing up, he went over and opened it, allowing Monroe, the Blutbad, inside.

“This is way past my bedtime, you know.” The clockmaker states as he comes in, Nick closing the door behind him.

“Well, if I could speak German, I wouldn’t have called.” The detective/Grimm says in response as he walks back to the desk in the trailer.

“Oh, so we’ve got a little Deutsche-Schwierigkeit, do we?” The Blutbad inquires, the Grimm more than a little confused.

“I think the answer to that is ‘Yes’.” Nick replies and then gestures to the books still laying out.

“Really?” Monroe asks, more than a little awestruck.

“Go for it.” Nick permits and the Blutbad looked excited.

“Wow. Okay. Let’s see what we got here. Steinadler and Schakal.” The clockmaker says, almost breathless, as he approaches the desk and books, which he sits down at to read. “Oh, this is High German. This is the stuff my grandfather used to speak of after a couple of beers.” He remarks as Nick sits down himself.

“Auf dem weg von munechen nach Augsburg, fan dich am waldrand ein kleines feuerlein vor… ‘On our way from Munich to Augsburg, I came across a small fire a little ways into the woods’.” Monroe reads aloud before muttering a bit in German. “Ooh, these are some pretty bad Schakal this, uh… Relative of yours is writing of yours is writing about.” He says to Nick before turning back to the book.

“Whoa, look out. They ate a baby. That’s rude.” The Blutbad grimaces, especially with the drawing of said event depicted on the opposite page of the book. “Okay, okay, here we go. So he caught up with the Schakal and of course, cut off his head. Indem er eine axt niegergescjlagen hat.” He reads next, the sketch now of the Grimm chopping the Schakal’s head off with an axe, then turns to face Nick. “You guys are really into that, aren’t you?” He remarks.

“Okay, is there any indication of what I’m up against with these Schakals?” The police detective asks.

“Well, yeah, they’re baby-eating bastards, man. What more do you need to know?” Monroe replies then asks.

“So what about the, um… Steinadlers?” Nick asks next.

“Steinadler, let’s see.” The Blutbad says as he looks over the entry on said Wesen. “Huh.” He hums at what he sees.

“What?” The Grimm asks, curious.

“Just a second, this is interesting. Steinadlers seem to be involved in the military.” Monroe says, the image this time depicting a man with a bird-like face dressed in a civil war styled uniform, holding a gun in one hand and a sword in the other, a second showing a Steinadler commanding other soldiers.

“Like, heroic, noble… Apparently with very large…sausages? I don’t think I’m translating that correctly.” He reads, Nick grimacing at that line. “Um, but anyway, when you’re dealing with the Steinadler, it’s, um—basically what they’re saying is, it’s hard to tell whose side he’s on.” He relays to the detective.

“So they can’t be trusted.” Nick guesses.

“No, it’s not that exactly. Like trust your gut.” Monroe tells him. “But the thing that really doesn’t add up is a Steinadler with a Schakal. They’re almost like, opposite sides of a coin.” He then remarks.

“By the way, Monroe, have you ever heard of something called, the Knight-Saber?” Nick then inquires.

“Knight, Saber…? Um, no, not that I can recall… What is it?” The Blutbad replies then asks for details.

“Some sort of ancient artifact. It was involved in a jewelry store robbery earlier this evening, where I ran into the Steinadler and Schakal. The Steinadler said it goes back centuries and has been in the hands of Wesen before… You sure you don’t know anything?” Nick recounts then asks again.

“Nope. I mean I love vintage stuff as much as the next guy, but I’m not really an expert on the subject of antiques. I got nothing.” The Blutbad replies and the Grimm sighs. “Anything else you want me to translate?” He then asks.

“No. Thank you.” Nick replies as Monroe gets up, only to trip over some stuff, knocking some of it over. “Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!” The detective warns.

“Sorry.” The Blutbad apologizes as he scrambles to pick the stuff back up.

“Careful now.” Nick says, just as Monroe notices something.

“Oh, my god. Is that camera an Akeley?” The clockmaker says excitedly as he picks up said camera.

“Be careful.” The Grimm pleads, not wanting anything in the trailer to get broken.

“Where did you get this? Oh, right. Aunt Marie, of course.” Monroe puts together when another item grabs his attention. “No way. Dude, that is a Kineclair projector.” He says in awe as he cranks the projector.

“How do you know all this?” Nick asks, admittedly amused at Monroe’s childlike excitement for the said items.

“Okay, my great uncle on my mother’s side, Olaf—that’s my uncle’s name, not my mother’s—he worked as a newsreel cameraman in Berlin in the ‘20s. He had a camera shop on the Leitung Strasse, so when he died, my mother got all of his old stuff, and…right.” The Blutbad rambles but stops upon noticing Nick’s expression. “Sorry. It’s late. I should be going.” He says while passing the camera to Nick then goes to grab his sweater.

“Look, I appreciate all your help.” The detective tells him.

“Yeah, yeah, no problem. I--It’s just, you got me thinking. I gotta find those old cameras, man. I’m gonna be up all night rummaging through the attic.” Monroe says as he moves to the trailer door. “All right, Bisspater, Alligator.” He says next as he leaves.

“Bis Spater.” Nick says back then looks over the vintage camera, before putting it back and gathering his jacket, then leaves the trailer himself to head home.

“We arrested a guy tonight and during the interview, he said some pretty strange things.” Nick tells his girlfriend, Juliette, as they were getting ready for bed.

“What did he say?” Juliette inquires as her boyfriend sits on the edge of their bed, his back towards her so she couldn’t see the conflicted expression on his face, not sure how to word his next sentence.

“He said he knew someone from Rhinebeck.” He finally says.

“Rhinebeck, New York, where you were born?” His girlfriend recalls.

“Yeah. He said he was with a woman 18 years ago, but she left him when her sister died in an accident. And she left him to take care of her sister’s kid.” Nick says next.

“Wait a minute, was he talking about your Aunt Marie?” Juliette inquires.

“I don’t know.” The Grimm replies, absentmindedly caressing his right wrist.

“You didn’t ask?” The veterinarian questions and the detective finally turns around to face her.

“Look, I couldn’t. You know, it’s a police investigation. I can’t bring my personal life into it. He could use it against me, and I don’t even know if he’s telling me the truth.” He states, ultimately deciding to leave out the part about the gauntlet.

“Well, how do you find out?” The auburn haired woman then asks.

“I have to do some digging.” Nick answers. Not just on Farley Kolt and his apparent connection to his aunt, but also the Knight-Saber…

“Okay. How can I help?” Juliette asks, more like volunteers.

“All right, so his name is Farley Kolt. And I want to know if he was living in Rhinebeck when he said he was.” Nick ends up requesting and his girlfriend smiles at him. With that, the two got into bed for the night.

Meanwhile, Sean Renard was in his condo, currently looking into a mirror while shirtless, showing a mark on his chest right where his heart would be; specifically two circles that were overlapped with each other, appearing sort of like a scar but also not at the same time. He sighs before turning his attention to a nearby table, where the gauntlet currently laid, the blood on it having been cleaned off, feeling almost like it was looking at him.

“Don’t give me false hope. I already know who you want.” He says to the saber, before smirking. “And honestly, you couldn’t have selected a better candidate. I can’t wait to see…” He says before picking it up then makes his way to his bedroom for the night, for now hiding the armored glove away in his closet.

Chapter Text

Sean Renard was awoken from his sleep by the sound of distant cheering. He got up from his bed and walked down the hall of his apartment towards the source of the sound, pulling on a bathrobe as he arrives in his kitchen, where he realizes the noise was coming from outside and then approaches the balcony.

Upon stepping out, the night not only turns to day but the scene of the city itself shifts to an ancient looking settlement, one you’d typically see in fantasy movies. Renard himself finding he was now wearing robes fit for royalty along with a gold crown on his head. Below, the crowd cheered and applauded for him as he raised his arms to greet his people with a confidant smile on his face.

After a bit, he turns around and heads back inside—only his apartment-condo had changed to a medieval castle—finding a man dressed in armor who was bowing before him, a familiar gauntlet adorning his right hand. He smiles down at the man as he approaches, reaching down to take hold of the armored man’s chin then lifting up his head to look him in the eyes, revealing the knight’s face, none other than Nick Burkhardt’s.

Renard groans as he awoke from his dream—which felt so real he couldn’t quite tell if he was awake now—sitting up in bed, he unconsciously glances to his closet, where a certain gauntlet resided, wondering if maybe it had something to do with his dream. Or was it some sort of vision…? Either way, Renard knew of its power and that until it was in the hands of its rightful wielder, he had to keep it secure…

Nick found himself walking down a hallway made of stone, it kind of appeared to be underground, the clink of his metal boots and armor joints echoing with each step. At first he was alone but soon he was surrounded by dark figures, all staring at him with narrowed eyes before woging before his eyes; Blutbaden, Schakals and Hundjäger, to name a few, who all growl before attacking him.

On instinct he raised his right hand, which bore a silver gauntlet with a big blue jewel, a sword/blade extending from it, and began fighting against his attackers, resulting in many losing their heads. Up ahead he could see an armored figure wearing a helmet with a crown-circlet and a gold mask that hid their face. Feeling compelled to get closer to them, he fought his way through the Wesen horde, which seemed to increase in numbers but he persistented.

Finally, he made it through and was now standing before the other in armor. The mysterious figure then reaches up and removes the mask from his face, revealing familiar features… It was his captain, Sean Renard, who reaches for Nick and pulls him closer, then reaches up with his other hand and caresses his face with such tenderness… At that moment, a series of visions assault his mind…

Men on the battlefield with the same gauntlet on their arm, kings and emperors who were wearing a bracelet as they were crowned or greeting their subjects. A symbol of two circles overlapping one another, people from different eras of history and cultures across the world… Before focusing on a man tied up to a wooden stake with a crowd gathering around him, appearing to be jeering at him.

“Why have you forsaken me!?” The man cries out just as the bottom of the stake is lit, the flames spreading and climbing up towards him. He then screams out as a wave ripples across his face, his skin becoming grey and rotted like a corpse and his eyes glowing bright white. The fire continues to grow, consuming his form, before being replaced by Nick, who was now the one burning…

Nick gasps as he awoke with a start, sitting up in his bed, breathing and sweating heavily, the images from his dream still fresh in his mind with his heart pounding in his chest. He tries to steady himself, rubbing his hands over his face then running his fingers through his hair.

“Nick? Baby, is everything okay?” Juliette asks while turning on the light, as it was still dark, then sitting up herself and looking at her boyfriend with concern.

“Yeah, just… Had a really intense dream…” He replies, not sure how to describe what he had just experienced. “Sorry for waking you.” He then apologizes.

“It’s okay. You want to talk about it?” The veterinarian says then asks while rubbing Nick’s arm to comfort him.

“I…I’m not even sure what it was… It felt so surreal…” He says back while rubbing his temples, recalling the bizarre and overwhelming images he saw in his dream, in particular the man being burned to death.

“Dreams can feel like that.” Juliette admits. “Come on, maybe we can salvage some sleep. You need to be rested for work tomorrow, don’t you?” She says next and gently pushes her boyfriend back laying down.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Nick agrees, Juliette than lying down herself and turns off the light. The detective sighs, not sure how but he did manage to fall back asleep.

The next day, Nick awoke still a little rattled from his strange dream, though felt okay enough to head in for work, with Juliette doing the same. Upon arriving at the precinct, he picks up a file for the jewelry store robbery case, then heads for his desk, finding Hank with a cup of coffee in hand along the way.

“Hey,” He greets, a little sluggish as he accepts the coffee.

“I thought you’d be feeling better by now.” Hank remarks, noticing his partner’s slightly ragged appearance, especially as he downs almost half the coffee in his first gulp.

“Had a rough sleep last night. A real vivid dream…” Nick tells him as he continues his path to the desk.

“One you try not to think about but it won’t leave your head… Oh man, I’ve been there.” Hank admits just as they arrive at their desks. “What do we got?” He then asks about their case, sitting on the edge of the table.

“We got an I.D. on the other set of prints from the house.” Nick replies as he hands the file to his partner then pulls up a mugshot on his computer screen. “Soledad Marquesa.” He says while turning the monitor towards Hank.

“The guy who got away last night.” The other detective puts together.

“Yeah, pretty lengthy criminal career in Europe. Known to associate with our two dead thieves, Flynn and Hans.” The Grimm informs him.

“What about Kolt?” Hank then inquires.

“Well, ballistics cleared him on the shooting. But we still don’t know if he was involved in the heist.” Nick tells him in response. “I wanna take a closer look at this guy.” He adds, though doesn’t tell Hank about his connection to his family. “He did have this in his possession.” He says next, holding up a hotel room card. “Hotel Deluxe. Checked in two nights ago.” He reveals, passing the card to Hank.

“Well, what are we doing here? Let’s get a warrant.” His partner says.

Meanwhile, Renard had just come into the precinct, immediately making his way to his office, as soon as he closed the door, he proceeded to close the blinds then takes out something from his coat. That being the Knight-Saber gauntlet, which he proceeds to hide in his desk’s bottom drawer, before dialing his office phone.

“Anything on Officer Brenner, or the thief on the loose?” He asks.

“Nothing on either, sir.” The officer on the other replies.

“Anything at all?” Renard inquires.

“Actually, Dr. Harper was attacked last night, beaten pretty badly. She’s currently in the hospital. No clue on the attacker.” The man informs.

“Damn it…” The captain curses, knowing it had to be Soledad and that it was only a matter of time before he came looking for the gauntlet. A thought than came to him. “Call for a press conference. We need to get the word out. I might have an idea who’s behind it.” He orders.

“Right away, sir.” The officer says then ends the call.

Meanwhile, Nick and Hank got the warrant to search Kolt’s hotel room and made their way to the Hotel Deluxe. After showing their badges and said warrant to the staff, they were led to room 27, which they enter.

“Thanks. If we need anything else, we’ll let you know.” Hank tells the woman who brought them there before she left and the two detectives started investigating, searching the drawers and closet for anything to help. Nick looks under the bed, finding something stored beneath.

“I got a suitcase. You find anything?” He grunts then asks as he pulls out said case and places it on the bed.

“Couple of Armani suits, two pairs of Mephisto shoes, and a pair of commando boots.” Hank tells him and Nick is struck by a thought.

“You know, I found some black clothing in the dresser.” He recalls as he unzips and opens the suitcase.

“You thinking black ops?” Hank guesses as he walks over.

“I don’t know. But he was pretty cool under the interrogation.” Nick says as he picks up a strange box from in the suitcase, opening it to find a vintage film reel canister inside.

“Who wants to bet he’s moving drugs?” Hank cracks, Nick opening the canister to reveal a film reel. “Huh, what do you know? There’s actually film in there.” He remarks as he picks up a catalog envelope, which he opens then pulls out some papers from in it. He hums as he notices how old the papers appeared to be, Nick taking a couple to look at them himself.

“1943?” He reads the date on the documents. “This letter’s in German. Any idea what Streng Geheim means?” He asks.

“I imagine ‘top secret’, like this one in English, dated June, 1945. O.S.S.” Hank replies then says, Nick’s eyes widening as he recognizes the acronym.

“Office of Strategic Services. That’s a precursor to the C.I.A.” He recalls.

“I knew there was something freaky about this guy.” Hank remarks as he sits down on the room couch.

“Who signed that?” Nick then asks as he picks up a black leather folder.

“W. Donovan,” Hank answers then starts reading its contents. “‘This letter will serve as background information relevant to the discovery of the gauntlet by the 101^st airborne at the Kehlstein Haus’… ‘April, 1945, the search for the gauntlet continues. It is to be relocated to allied headquarters under guard in a vault. Studies have revealed the item to be a priceless historical artifact dating back to the Crusades’… Woah, captain was right about it being ancient…” He says in awe.

“The Crusades… As in, the ones back in the thirteenth century?” Nick asks.

“Apparently,” Hank replies as he stands back up, putting the letter down then picks up another file to look at, while Nick looks through the folder, finding images of the gauntlet referenced in historic art, such as paintings and carvings.

“Looks like this gauntlet’s been traveling extensively…” He says, not sure how to feel about all this, considering what Kolt told him last night about the saber.

“Whoa, man, listen to this…” Hank says as he comes upon something else. “‘Saint Zachariah, a loyal, devout follower and powerful solider of the Vatican church until he was convicted as a practitioner of the dark arts, a witch… For this he was stripped of his status and imprisoned, then was sentenced to death by burning at the stake… It is said as he was engulfed in flames, his true demonic face was revealed’…

“Christ, man…” He reads then swears, Nick looking over his partner’s shoulder at the file of the recount, accompanied by a sketch of a man tied to a wooden stake that was being set ablaze, his face twisted in agony but also didn’t appear human… The detective felt his heart stop as the mental image of the burning man from his dream last night resurfaces in his mind…

“Why have you forsaken me!?” The man’s words ring in his ears, his agonized screams following as he’s burned alive, before Nick took his place in the flames.

“Nick…? Nick!” Hank’s voice pulls him back to reality and he gasps and also starts breathing heavily, reeling from whatever that was… “You good?” His partner asks.

“Yeah, just… That’s, pretty disturbing…” Nick ends up saying in response, left more than a little dazed and confused.

“I’ll say…” Hank does agree and looks through more of the file, pausing on an old black and white photo showing a few figures dressed in what looked to be 40s styled clothing, with one man in particular catching his attention. “Wait, what…? Nick, you need to see this.” He says as he picks up the picture and shows it to his partner. “Is that, you…?” He asks, Nick’s eyes widening when he sees the man, who looked almost exactly like him, wearing a long coat and a fedora hat.

“What the heck?” The Grimm questions as he takes the photo to get a closer look, unable to tear his gaze away from the man in the picture. Something about him… It wasn’t just how they looked alike, Nick felt a, connection to this unknown man. “Wait, this looks pretty old… When was this taken?” He inquires, noticing the quality and background of the image.

“This photo is from, 1942…” Hank reads from the file. “Is he a relative of yours?” He theorizes, Nick shrugging in response.

“I have, no idea, Hank…” He replies, then notices something on the man’s wrist. It appeared to be a bracelet with a gemstone on it. “Okay, this is freaky…” He says.

“You’re telling me…” Hank says in agreement, then hears his phone ringing, which he takes out of his pocket and answers. “Griffin,” He greets the person on the other end, Nick still transfixed by the man in the picture. “What?” His partner says, finally tearing his attention from the photo. “When did that happen? Yeah, okay.” The black man says before finishing the call and looks to the other detective.

“Harper was put in the hospital. She was pistol whipped last night.” Hank tells Nick, who stares in shock. “Apparently whoever did it was interested in our dead jeweler… Or more specifically, what he was hiding as he died.” He says next and Nick puts the pieces together.

“Soledad Marquesa. He’s after the gauntlet.” He deduces.

“All right. You wanna finish up here, I’ll see about Harper?” Hank says as he puts down the file and walks towards the room door.

“Yeah, I’ll get the docs translated, and check up on the gauntlet.” Nick tells his partner as the other man leaves the room, leaving him alone… with all this stuff that contained information on the Knight-Saber…including the photo, which he puts down before picking up the film reel and looks at the images on said film.

Afterwards, Nick headed back to the precinct and went right down to where evidence was stored. He searches the items pertaining to the robbery, finding many of the store’s merchandise, though not the gauntlet he was looking for. He couldn’t help but feel anxious for some reason, feeling he had to find the saber, when he comes upon a metal box that would fit it perfectly.

Feeling himself being drawn to said box, he picks it up and opens it, finding velvet padding inside with the outline of the gauntlet, but no gauntlet itself. He groans then notices the velvet padding on the lid seemed to be peeling. Curious, he pulls at it slightly to reveal a carving of two overlapped circles, his breath hitching as he recognizes it as the same symbol from his dream.

“Sorry, Burkhardt,” The officer in charge of evidence speaks as he enters the room, making Nick jump slightly. “Gotta lock up and kick you out.” He announces.

“Why?” Nick asks while calming his pulse. Seriously, why is he agitated over this?

“Captain’s having a press conference and we all gotta be there. Did you find what you were looking for?” The man explains then asks, Nick hastily closing the box in response.

“No.” He replies, feeling almost, disappointed. “Hey, are you sure the captain didn’t bring anything into evidence last night?” He then asks.

“If he did, it’s not in the log.” The other officer replies while putting said log away. “Come on now, we gotta go.” He says then leaves, Nick putting the metal box back before following him.

Making his way up to the main bullpen, Nick meets with Hank as they enter to find a couple cameras streaming the live press conference, Sean Renard at the forefront as he addresses both his department and the audience.

“Two nights ago, Samuel Bertram, a local jeweler was killed in a robbery at his store, by three assailants. Two of those very thieves and murders were later found, having died in a shoot-out, apparently with each other, that being Ian Flynn and Hans Roth.

“However the third man, who is now also suspected to have something to do with the missing Officer Brenner and possibly attacked Forensic Medical Examiner, Dr. Harper, is still at large. As such, we warn all citizens to be on the lookout for this man; Soledad Marquesa.” He states, holding up Soledad’s mugshot.

“Hank, we might have a problem.” Nick says, though under his breath so no one else could hear him.

“What’s up?” The said man inquires.

“I went to take a look at the gauntlet, it was never recorded as evidence.” The Grimm-detective informs his partner, who looks confused.

“What? Hang on, are you saying the captain still has it? Why?” The other detective puts together then questions.

“Seems like a lot of people have been trying to get their hands on this thing, for over centuries…” Nick says vaguely. “Maybe he knows something more than what he just told us last night.” He adds, honestly suspicious.

“If you see this man then please notify the police. Bear in mind, the suspect is assumed to be armed and dangerous. So for any citizen, we advise them to not engage, while for any member on the force to not engage him alone. That will be all.” Captain Renard finishes his statement and the cameras are turned off, no one noticing Soledad himself among the audience, having cut his hair, plus shaved his beard and was also dressed in an officer’s uniform, more specifically, Brenner’s.

“Sir, we need to talk. It’s about the gauntlet…” Nick starts, he and Hank outside the captain’s office door, a few reporters inside.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t right now.” The captain seems to brush them off, closing the door to speak privately with the newshounds.

“You really think he has it?” Hank questions as he and Nick turn then start walking towards their desks.

“He’s the last one who did. He has to be hiding it somewhere! He also clearly knows something he’s not telling us!” Nick states.

“Seriously, what is it with you and this gauntlet? Last night you could barely look at the thing and now you have to know where it is?” Hank questions him. Before Nick could reply, his phone rings and he takes it out to answer the caller.

“Yes?” He answers/greets, sitting down at his desk.

“So I found out some interesting stuff about Farley Kolt.” Juliette’s voice says.

“Kolt? Oh, right…” Nick says in response, having honestly forgotten about the Steinadler, his mind preoccupied by the saber. “What did you find?” He then asks.

“According to real estate records and phone books, he spent five years in Rhinebeck—same exact time you were there—and seems to have left around 1994.” His girlfriend tells him.

“The same year my parents died.” Nick recognizes.

“Exactly.” Juliette confirms, though it goes quiet between them for a moment. “You want me to get more?” She then asks.

“Yeah. Thanks, Juliette, you’re the best.” Nick tells her.

“I know.” She says with a smile in her voice before ending the call.

“Hey, what’s that about your parents dying?” Hank asks, having overheard the conversation.

“I don’t know yet.” Nick replies, not sure what to tell his partner about all this. “Hey, keep an eye on the captain. I’m gonna go talk to Kolt.” He says then gets up from his chair and heads for the holding cells.

“Got it.” Hank calls to him, turning to look at Renard in his office, though was still concerned for his partner.

Meanwhile, Nick was led to Farley Kolt’s cell, the security officer unlocking the cell door and allowing the detective inside before closing it. Farley himself had been laying down on the cot, rising up into a sitting position, facing Detective Burkhardt.

“I knew you’d be back.” The Steinadler states in a neutral tone.

“What was the name of the woman you knew in Rhinebeck, New York?” Nick proceeds to ask, getting straight to the point. Kolt sighs.

“So you checked my story. Good.” The Wesen man says.

“What was her name?” Nick asks again, growing a bit impatient.

“Marie Kessler. Why?” Farley replies then asks, confused on why it was relevant, while Nick was contemplating the confirmation of who the Grimm in his story was.

“How well did you know her?” The detective asks next.

“We were engaged. Can’t say either side of the family was too happy.” Kolt says then pauses as something occurs to him. “You know her.” He realizes.

“She was my aunt.” Nick tells the Steinadler.

“You were the kid she had to raise that I didn’t know.” The hawk-Wesen puts together. “And she’s dead isn’t she?” He then realizes and Nick nods his head in confirmation. “How long ago?” He asks.

“Four months.” Nick answers and though Farley was keeping it together, the Grimm could tell he was affected by the news.

“I’m sorry.” Kolt offers his condolences. “I wish I could’ve seen her, just one more time.” He then admits.

“Yeah, well, me too.” The Grimm says in response, still agitated, which Farley takes notice of.

“This isn’t just about her, is it? It’s about the saber…” Kolt says and the Grimm snaps his attention to him. “Tell me, have you been having strange dreams lately? Ones that seem to be of another person’s life?” He asks and the detective once again recalls the dream about the strange figures with the saber, including the man being burned at the stake.

“How do you know about that?” He asks the Steinadler, on edge.

“So, it has chosen you…” Is all Farley says in response, confusing the Grimm.

“‘Chosen me’…? Are you serious?” Nick repeats then questions.

“Like I said, the saber has a will of its own. Once it set its gaze upon you, it marked you, as its wielder. That thing has power, but it needs a proper host in order to wield it.” Kolt explains, Nick remaining silent. “Still trying to figure out if you can trust me? Believe me on all this?” He deduces.

“Something like that. You can understand my skepticism. Even with everything I’ve experienced since becoming a Grimm, what you’re describing is a little much…” The detective replies then states.

“Look, I can help you. Soledad will make his move if he hasn’t already. He almost got his hands on the saber at one time. 18 years ago, outside Rhinebeck, Highway 9G.” Farley says next and Nick felt his heart stop for a moment.

“Soledad killed my parents?” The Grimm asks.              

“He was one of the many involved.” Kolt confirms.

“All for that, that gauntlet!? What!? Does he think he can wield it!?” Nick exclaims.

“I never said he was getting it for himself.” The Steinadler states and the Grimm pauses. “From what I understand, Soledad, Flynn and Hans, were hired to retrieve the gauntlet for someone, I don’t know who exactly. They almost had it, 18 years ago, but it slipped through their fingers, so he’s still on the job.” He then explains. Nick trying to take it all in when his phone rings and he answers it.

“Yeah?” He answers his partner.

“They found Officer Brenner’s body in a motel room. Somebody stripped his uniform.” Hank tells him. “Also, the captain’s taking off. So you better get up here.” He adds and the call was ended, Nick feeling a pit in his stomach as he has a bad feeling about why Brenner was stripped of his clothes.

“Soledad killed a police officer and took his uniform.” He tells Farley.

“Then he’s here. Where’s the gauntlet?” The Steinadler states then asks.

“I thought it was in evidence, but it looks like the captain has it.” Nick tells him. “We need to find it.” He then states.

“That might not entirely be a problem.” Kolt says, confusing the Grimm, which the Wesen takes notice of. “Let’s just say, I’ve been researching this thing for a long time, and I’ve found when the saber is needed, it finds a way to get to its bearer.” He says.

Meanwhile, Captain Renard had left the bullpen, as soon as he was out of sight, Hank made his way into his office and began searching for the gauntlet—looking in places where it would fit—but wasn’t having much luck. Just then, the door opened, making him quickly try to cover up what he was doing, looking up to find Nick and Kolt entering the office.

“You won’t find the gauntlet here.” Farley states.

“Where’s the captain?” Nick then asks.

“He just left.” Hank answers his partner. “What’s he doing here?” He questions.

“Ballistics cleared him. He knows Soledad and he can help us find him.” Nick tells him, though Hank still felt a bit suspicious. “Let’s go.” His partner says and they all go to follow after the police captain.

With Renard, the man had made his way down to the precinct parking lot, quickly noticing how dark it was. Immediately getting a strange feeling, he unconsciously padded his coat, where the saber currently was hidden, before continuing his way towards his car while keeping an eye out.

Nick, Hank and Farley right behind him, also noting the lack of lights. Kolt, being a Steinadler, switches to his Wesen eyes, immediately taking note of something that was moving in the shadows. Though more specifically, someone…

“He’s here.” He tells the two detectives, meaning Soledad. Nick and Hank then draw their guns and advance forward.

“Stay here.” Nick tells Kolt before he and Hank go searching for Renard.

Back with the captain, the man paused in his steps and turns, swearing he heard something behind him, though found nothing. He goes to resume walking when out of nowhere, someone tackles him, slamming him against a nearby concrete pillar, dazing him, the saber getting thrown out of his coat from the impact. The attacker being none other than Soledad.

“Captain!” Nick exclaims as he and Hank come in, witnessing the attack.

“Police! Put down your gun!” Hank announces then orders, but Soledad draws it and shoots at the detectives. Renard, despite still being dazed from the hit, kicks out his leg on Soledad’s shin, making him miss before running, the two detectives pursing him. A shootout ensuing, Farley making his way over while ducking down to avoid the gunfire, finding Renard.

“Stay down. Stay down.” He tells the police captain. “Are you all right? Are you hit?” He then asks while checking the man for wounds, though really looking for the saber, but found nothing. “He doesn’t have it.” He realizes then turns in the direction of the shootout, getting up then approaches the gunfire.

Meanwhile, the three gunmen had moved through the parking lot, their shootout continuing when one stray bullet hit Hank in the shoulder, causing him to drop, also hitting his head on the ground, knocking him unconscious.

“Hank!” Nick cries as he walks over to his downed partner, thankfully finding it was only a flesh wound and his head didn’t appear to have severe damage. He then turns his attention back to Soledad as the man appeared to be making an attempted escape. The Grimm narrows his eyes then gets back up and chases after the Schakal, eventually catching up to him.

“Soledad Marquesa!” He exclaims, getting the man’s attention and they point their guns at each other. “I have questions I need to ask you!” The detective states, the criminal not moving a muscle. “18 years ago, two people were killed in Rhinebeck, New York, on Highway 9G, Reed and Kelly Burkhardt.” He starts, the man visibly reacting to their names. “You were involved, right?” He then asks.

“What’s it to you?” Soledad says back in a cold tone, enraging Nick.

“Just tell me!” He demands, firing a warning shot, causing Soledad to woge into his Schakal form and also saw Nick for what he was.

“Grimm…!” He snarls and fires back, the detective dodging but is grazed by the shell casing, causing him to drop his gun in the scuffle. He hisses, as he scrambles to find cover, not realizing he had gone back towards the area where Kolt and Renard were, the Steinadler having made himself scarce while the captain was still a little out of it.

“You want to know so badly what happened? All right, I’ll tell you.” Soledad says as he looks around for Nick, having returned to human form. “Hans, Flynn and I were hired to find an artifact of great power, a gauntlet… The legendary Knight-Saber. Somehow, it had gotten into the hands of a Grimm, and so with help from a couple Reapers, we staged a little ‘accident’, to take them out of the equation…

“However, when we went to retrieve our quarry, it was nowhere to be found. The Reapers left with the Grimm’s head but we ended up spending the next 18 years to find that damn thing! And let’s just say our client hasn’t been happy with our failure… Now, I’m finally so close, and I won’t let you, that damn Steinadler, or anyone else stand in my way!” He yells out, reloading his gun with more bullets.

Nick felt his blood boil as he listens to the Schakal’s words, a great fury building up within him, for his parents, and all those who probably died at the hands of this man in his pursuit of the saber… The saber… Soledad was after it, he was hired to get it, but it was not his… Nearby, the Knight-Saber, which had fallen under one of the cars in the garage, shifts, just as Nick steps out into the open.

“There you are.” Soledad says with a sinister smile as he aims his gun at the unarmed detective, his woge washing over him once more as Nick stares him down. The images from his dream once again running through his mind; men in battle with the saber, the man being burned, and also the man from the photo he and his partner found in Kolt’s hotel room….

“…when the saber is needed, it finds a way to get to its bearer.” Said Steinadler’s words replay in his mind as he raises his right hand and lets out a furious battle cry, the saber flying off from the ground and towards him, sliding itself perfectly onto his out-stretched arm, just as Soledad fires, only for the bullet to be deflected, the jackal-like Wesen’s eyes widening when he sees the gauntlet on the Grimm’s arm.

“No… No!” The Hispanic man screams and starts shooting at the Grimm-detective as he approaches him, a blade extending from the gauntlet which the man uses to deflect the bullets. Nearby, Kolt watches with his Steinadler eyes, Renard himself awake enough to see the scene, witnessing Nick as his form switches between his normal self and an armored figure, just like from his dream last night…

Nick himself stares down Soledad as he kept walking forward towards his parents’ killer. Body almost on auto-pilot as he effortlessly blocks every bullet shot at him, with said bullets appearing to slow down as soon as they got close, allowing him to slice them with the blade of the gauntlet, not noticing the lights flashing around him or his appearance shifting to that of a knight.

Eventually the Schakal ran out of bullets just as Nick stops in front of him, a look of pure anger on his face. He stares down the Wesen, who felt like he was staring into the gaze of death, before raising his hand, the blade having retracted, and grabs the Wesen man by his throat, shoving him against a nearby pillar. He then raises his armored hand and throws a punch, Soledad barely managing to dodge in time as a hole is smashed into the pillar, where his head previously was.

The Schakal goes to run, but doesn’t get far before being grabbed and tossed into the wall by Nick, who comes at him. Panicked, the Hispanic man grabs a nearby metal pole and swings, Nick raising his hand with the saber, the sword appearing once again, and blocks the pole. The two engage in a pseudo-sword fight, with Nick eventually knocking the pole from Soledad’s hands then runs the blade right through him, the Schakal gasping from the pain as he looks up at the Grimm.

“Who-who, are you…?” He manages to gasp out.

“Nick Burkhardt, the one whose parents you and your cohorts murdered 18 years ago!” Nick replies and the Schakal’s eyes widen.

“Y-You…? You’re the heir…” Soledad says, confusing the Grimm.

“What? What are you talking about?” He asks and the Wesen starts laughing, blood trickling from his mouth.

“You don’t know… Hehehe… Oh, you have no idea, who…you…are…” He says as he coughs up more blood, then slumps forward, unmoving. It was then Nick seemed to come back to himself and realizes what he had down.

“Oh god…” He gasps as he pulls the blade of the gauntlet from Soledad’s body, which falls to the floor in a heap, his attention focused solely on the item now on his right hand, the Knight-Saber… But how in the world did it get on him? He was sure the captain had it. Also, what exactly just happened? It was almost like he was dreaming the last couple of minutes.

The blade then retracts as he holds up his hand to get a better look at the saber. Then, before his eyes, it changed, going from a gauntlet to a silver cuff bracelet with a big blue jewel on top surrounded by an edging-pattern that appears almost like the infinity symbol… Or the two overlapped circle symbol he saw in his dream. Stranger was, the bracelet fit him perfectly, like it was made specifically for him.

“This can’t be happening…” He says to himself in disbelief, then remembers about Hank, Renard and Kolt. He turns and runs towards his partner, who thankfully was waking up. “Hank!” The Grimm exclaims as he reaches the other detective.

“Ahh… Nick? What happened?” The black man asks with a pained groan, clutching his injured shoulder.

“Soledad’s dead.” Nick informs his partner, who looks up at him in shock. “Are you okay?” He then asks, checking over the other man.

“Pretty sure it’s just a flesh wound…” Hank replies though winces. “How’s the captain doing?” He then asks.

“I’m gonna go check on him, and also call you an ambulance.” Nick says as he gets up and rushes to the captain’s side, who was clearly shaken but didn’t seem to be too injured.

“Nick…? What happened?” The captain asks, clearly still a bit disoriented.

“You were attacked. Your assailant’s been dealt with… Do you remember anything?” Nick tells him then inquires.

“I felt like someone was following me… Then something slammed into me and it all became a blur…” Renard replies, his vision a bit blurry, swearing Nick’s visage was replaced with a familiar knight for a sec, though he does notice the bracelet now adorning his detective’s wrist but doesn’t comment on it.

“I think you might have a concussion. Hang on, I’m calling an ambulance.” Nick tells him as he gets up and pulls out his phone, dialing 911, while also looking around the parking lot, unable to find any sign of a certain Steinadler…

Speaking of Kolt, the man had made his way back to his room at the Hotel Deluxe, pulling out his suitcase and began packing up his stuff, clearly intending to leave.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” A voice speaks, making the man jump and turn to see the light of the room bathroom turn on, revealing Nick standing in the doorway. The detective steps forward then raises his right hand, revealing the bracelet on it. “Isn’t this, what you came for?” He asks and Kolt sighs.

“I couldn’t take it now, even if I wanted to. It’s chosen you… You, are now its bearer.” The Steinadler states and Nick grits his teeth, then turns and picks up something.

“What about this? Who is this!? Why does he look like me!? More importantly, is that the saber on his wrist!?” He exclaims while holding up the black and white picture of the man who had an uncanny resemblance to himself. Farley looks at the man in the photo, then up at the agitated Grimm-detective.

“He was an American spy during WW2, fighting against Hitler from the shadows, and yes, was a bearer like yourself. In fact, he’s the one who stole the saber from the Third Reich. His name was Adrian Burkhardt and he had a son named Reed…” Kolt explains and Nick’s breath stopped for a moment as he looks down at the man in the photo, Adrian.

“Wait, so, this man is…” He stammers as it starts coming to together.

“Your grandfather, Nick. And it seems you take after him.” Farley confirms and remarks, the Grimm feeling his heart race as he stares at the picture before looking back up at the Steinadler.

“You knew… How long…? Since we talked?” He asks, stunned.

“When you told me you were Marie’s nephew, it all came together.” The Wesen man answers him. “There was something I left out when talking about the saber. Throughout history it has chosen many to wield it, but it seemed to be particularly fond of a certain bloodline, not of Grimm nor Wesen, but all human.” He adds.

“You mean, on my father’s side?” Nick puts together and Kolt nods.

“Of course there were outliers, including quite a few Zauberbiests—that seems to be its second favorite pick for a host—that included a solider of the Vatican, Saint Zachariah, who used the saber to fight for the church, but when his Wesen nature was discovered, he was thought to be a witch and was persecuted, then executed by…” The Steinadler explains.

“Being burned at the stake.” Nick cuts him off, the horrible image of a man burning resurfaces in his mind. “How did I see that?” He then questions.

“Legend has it, that a piece of every bearer who’s had the saber resides within it. So in a way, you inherit their memories and a bit of their spirit, when you became its new bearer.” Kolt answers.

“But, I didn’t even, have it… How…?” Nick questions, glancing to the bracelet on his wrist, wondering just how much it has affected him at this point.

“Doesn’t matter. As soon as it set its sights on you, your fate became intertwined with it I guess you could say.” Farley tells him.

“What happened to Adrian?” The Grimm then inquires.

“It seems after the war your grandfather retired. And, when he died years later, he left the Knight-Saber to your father, who then married your mom, and both of them kept the saber hidden, until it was lost when they were killed 18 years ago.” Kolt answers and explains, the detective trying to take it all in.

“Did Aunt Marie tell you about all this?” Nick then asks.

“She told me what she could. I never actually met your parents myself, just to let you know.” Kolt replies and the Grimm sighs. “Everything else I know, I found out through extensive research, even then there’s still a lot I don’t know.” He says next then picks up said research and holds it out to the detective. “Here. It rightfully is yours. Maybe you’ll find something I couldn’t.” He states.

“Thank you.” The Grimm replies, grateful as he accepts the files, the Wesen man also putting the case with the film reels next to him, before turning back to his luggage, which he finishes packing. “So you’re really leaving.” The detective deduces.

“I got other things to take care of, now that I know the saber is where it belongs.” Kolt replies as he goes to leave, but pauses before heading out the door. “I just have one last request before I leave… Can I see Marie?” He asks, surprising Nick. “I’m sorry if that’s overstepping. If it is, then I understand.” He says and almost leaves, but is stopped again.

“Lone Fir Cemetery…” Nick says, grabbing the Steinadler’s attention. “She’s buried in Lone Fir Cemetery.” The detective emphasizes.

“Thank you.” Farley says, a shimmer of tears in his eyes. “One last thing to keep in mind, as I’ve said, the saber has a will of its own, if you don’t learn to properly control it, it will take control of you.” He advices then leaves, Nick still reeling from all he had just learned, gazing down at the photo of Adrian, whom he now knew was his grandfather and like him, was a bearer of the Knight-Saber…

Later, Nick returned to the trailer, storing all that Kolt had given him in it for the time being. His gaze somehow falling onto the bracelet, the Knight-Saber, which he grasps with his other hand, rubbing his thumb over the blue gemstone, then noticed the case with the reel of film. He then remembers the old camera Monroe had pointed out last time he was here.

Curious, he digs out said camera and sets it up, along with a movie screen that was also stored in the trailer, then opens the container, surprised to find there was now a second reel, though figures Kolt probably put it in for him—whatever it was, it must be important/relevant—taking out the first one and slotting it into place, he starts cranking the camera playing the movie.

On the screen was none other than Adolf Hitler during one of his speeches to his Third Reich. As Nick watches, the man was saying something—but there was no audio so he couldn’t hear what exactly—clearly getting riled up, until he woged… Into a Blutbad, much to the Grimm’s shock. Not expecting to find out that one of the biggest tyrants in history, was in fact Wesen.

He couldn’t help but wonder how many other figures in history were also secretly Wesen of some kind, especially given the history of the saber itself. The Grimm then remembers the other film reel, wondering what it could be about… After taking off the finished reel, he puts the new one in and starts cranking the camera once again, playing the new film.

This time it took place in what looked to be a meeting of Nazis, until a man came in, wearing a long coat and a hat that covered his face. Like in the last film, there was no audio, though Nick could tell the soldiers were yelling at the man before charging at him, only for the man to raise his hand, revealing a familiar bracelet, which transforms into the Knight-Saber, shocking Nick though he still kept the film rolling while watching closely.

He sees the man with the saber fight off the Nazi soldiers—effortlessly he might add, not even needing the sword it held—eventually taking them all down. Nick notices the man’s hat had been knocked off during the scuffle, revealing his face, one that was quite familiar… It was Adrian Burkhardt, his paternal grandfather, the previous bearer of the saber.

The resemblance was still so uncanny, though a few differences were clear; as Adrian’s hair was noticeably shorter and styled in a slick 40s style, plus had a bit more of a beard compared to Nick’s stubble. After dispatching the soldiers, Adrian paused and turns, looking right at the camera. Nick knew it wasn’t possible, but it kind of felt like the man in the film was looking at him.

Said man then raises his hand, the one wearing the gauntlet, reaching outwards and Nick suddenly felt compelled to move closer towards him. He raises his right hand with the saber-bracelet on it, and walks closer to the screen, as if being called to by the man being displayed on it, who then opens his mouth and seems to speak.

“Nick…” A man’s voice rings in his ears, causing to Nick gasp and jump back in shock, knocking the camera a little and abruptly ending the movie. The Grimm pants, not sure what just happened, or if it was even real… His gaze falls back down to the Knight-Saber once again, still not sure what all this meant.

Chapter Text

Nick Burkhardt, a detective for the Portland PD, who discovers a hidden world of creatures from the very fairy tales told for centuries, and that he himself is a Grimm; the one who can see the truth hidden from humanity and also the one tasked in stopping these beings if they should become a threat to society.

Than a chance encounter leads him to coming into possession of a weapon of great power that goes back centuries; the Knight-Saber. Sought by many throughout history, but only wielded by the men it chose to bestow its abilities onto. Now he has another task; to unlock the mysteries of the saber and realize his destiny…

A figure was seen walking through a darkened forest, their form concealed by a long dark cloak with a hood. They then suddenly pause in place as a couple other figures emerge from the foliage, eyes glowing red and teeth bared, appearing to be growling. The one in the hood doesn’t flinch as they open their cloak and raise their right hand, revealing a silver bracelet with a blue gemstone on it, which then transforms into a gauntlet.

Clenching their armored fist, a blade extends from the gauntlet, and the red-eyed creatures then charged at the one in the cloak. Said hooded figure then fights the beast-like ones off and with powerful swings of the gauntlet/sword, decapitates the attackers, until all were slain. Standing over the headless corpses, the figure’s hood had fallen, revealing the face of a man with dark hair and blue eyes, the metal of his now bloodstained gauntlet-blade glinting in the moonlight…

Nick gasps as he awoke from his strange dream. At least it wasn’t as intense or disorienting as the others he’s been having lately. He sighs as he reaches up to touch his forehead, but stops when his eyes catch on a glint of silver and blue from his wrist. He couldn’t help but stare at the accessory… If only that was all it was…

It’s been at least a few weeks since the whole incident with the jewelry store robbery and murder of the owner, which had resulted in Nick learning about and acquiring the ancient weapon known as the Knight-Saber. Originally a medieval-looking gauntlet, it currently took the form of the bracelet on the Grimm’s right wrist, as it’s apparently done in the past.

It was also through that whole experience he learned about his parents’ murder, even coming face-to-face with one of the men responsible—whom he ended up killing with the saber—and also his apparent heritage, aside from the Grimm one. Particularly his grandfather, Adrian Burkhardt, his father, Reed’s, father, who was a spy during WW2 and himself a bearer of the Knight-Saber, having stolen it from Hitler, who himself was actually Wesen, a Blutbad to be exact.

Most of this he had learned from a Steinadler named Farley Kolt, who had been searching for the saber following its disappearance after Nick’s parents’ deaths, and had actually been in a relationship with his maternal aunt, Marie Kessler, though it ended when she took Nick in to raise herself following his parents’ death.

Of course, he hadn’t told anyone about all this—who would believe him?—he wasn’t even sure if he could tell Monroe, the Blutbad being pretty much the only one by his side since coming into his powers as a Grimm. But now this…? Some sort of mythical artifact that apparently has a thing for his paternal ancestors—accordingly to Farley—that honestly seemed to be pushing it. Even he was having trouble understanding all this, despite all he’s gone through already as a Grimm.

Groaning, the detective rubs his hand over his face before getting up from bed and heads into the bathroom. After freshening up and getting dressed, he then heads downstairs, finding his lovely girlfriend in the kitchen making breakfast. From the smell, it was scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns, plus coffee.

“Morning sleepy head.” Juliette greets when she notices her boyfriend.

“Good morning, and thank whatever higher power there is, for this.” Nick says as he gets himself a mug of coffee then plates up some food, the veterinarian taking note of the saber on his wrist.

“Still wearing it, huh?” She asks, the man looking at her confused.

“Huh? Oh, yeah… I just, can’t bring myself to take it off.” He says upon realizing what she meant.

“Well, it is an heirloom from your family. I get wanting to keep it close.” Juliette remarks with a kind smile. “It really does suit you.” She then compliments and kisses his cheek before taking her own plate of food and coffee to the table. Nick stands in the kitchen for a few moments, his mind once again wandering to the Knight-Saber. Now he had another secret to hide from his girlfriend… He then thought back to the night he came home after getting it…

“Nick, you’re back. Where have you been?” Juliette asks once the men enters their house, having just come back from the trailer.

“Oh, I…I was finishing up some work. There was a bit of an incident back at the precinct today.” Nick tells her, mixing the truth with lies, like usual.

“An incident? Did something happen?” The auburn haired woman asks in concern.

“The captain got attacked and Hank also got injured while we were pursuing the attacker. Both of them are okay, thankfully, which is more than I can say for the guy who ambushed the captain…” The detective tells her as he takes and hangs up his jacket on the nearby coat rack.

“Oh dear…” Juliette says then notices a glint on her boyfriend’s wrist. “Hey, what is that?” She asks, walking forward to get a better look.

“What?” Nick says, confused, then notices his girlfriend’s attention was on the bracelet he was wearing and ends up unconsciously covering it with his other hand. “Oh, uh… It’s…um…” He scrambles for an explanation. “A family heirloom… I found it in Aunt Marie’s trailer. Apparently it belonged to my dad’s family for generations.” He ends up telling her, though not entirely a lie.

“I see. Well that’s a pleasant surprise.” The veterinarian says with a smile. “May I…?” She then asks, gesturing to see the bracelet. Nick was admittedly reluctant, not knowing what the saber might do, but it would look suspicious, plus it hasn’t really done anything since the parking lot, so he unclasps his left hand and holds out his right to his girlfriend, who takes hold of it and looks at the jewelry.

“Wow, Nick, it’s beautiful, and it looks amazing on you.” She compliments with an awed smile. “It really brings out your eyes.” She says, reaching up and brushes some of Nick’s hair from his face, making him smile at her. “Come on, let’s eat. I made us some lasagna.” She says next and the two go to sit at the table and eat their dinner.

Nick sighs as he takes his breakfast plate to the table, where Juliette was already sat and eating, with him joining her. He was about half way through his meal when his phone started ringing and he answers it.

“Burkhardt,” He greets the person on the other line. “Hey, Hank, how you doing?” He says to his partner, who had just gotten out of the hospital following his injury when the two had that shootout with Soledad. “That’s good to hear… Wait, what? Okay, I’ll be right there.” He says next then ends the call and stands up. “Gotta go, there was a double homicide.” He tells Juliette as he prepares to head out.

“Okay, see you later.” She says back, having grown used to this by now.

Nick arrived at the scene, which was a house in an isolated wooded area, Hank also there and the two make their way to where the bodies were located…

“Morning, Fellas.” An officer, a sergeant to be exact, with the name Franco stitched on his uniform, greets them as they enter the house, stepping over the male victim in the process. “This is, uh, Ed and Lois Weller. Married 26 years. Ed here is a lumber exec, recently took early retirement. Probably not what he had planned, huh? We got lots of prints. Techs even found one partial in blood.” The officer informs the duo.

“Somebody was feeling ambitious.” Hank remarks.

“That’s not like a knife wound. It’s more like he was ripped open.” Nick observes, already getting a feeling this wasn’t committed by a “human” killer.

“Yeah, too savage for a ‘B’ and ‘E’. Something else is going on here. Drugs maybe?” His partner agrees then guesses as the Grimm notices something and goes to take a closer look, the other detective on his heels.

“Well, the steak’s raw.” Nick says as he leans down next to said raw steak on the floor. “Looks like someone was gnawing on it.” He notes, Hank approaching the other victim, Lois—who was clutching the house-phone in her hand—squatting down to get a better look at the poor woman.

“Animal could’ve gotten in here after. Door was open.” The detective guesses.

“Why would it leave the steak behind?” Nick points out.

After finishing up their investigation inside the house, the two detectives venture outside to see if they find anything else.

“A lot of horse tracks.” Nick notices.

“It’s not that unusual out here. Lots of people have horses.” Hank states.

“Yeah, except these people don’t.” The Grimm states. “Let’s see where they go.” He then suggests and the duo follow the tracks into the woods.

“Hooves are everywhere.” Hank remarks.

“Hey, look at the path of these tracks.” Nick points out.

“Yeah, they came in one way… Then doubled back.” His partner puts together.

“Lot of hoof prints here and these drag marks next to them.” The Grimm-detective notices next.

“Dragging what, a rake?” Hank ponders.

“Or something clawing at the ground.” Nick suggests as he steps toward the drag marks, noticing something in the dirt. He kneels down and reaches over, picking up a strange piece of leather with a spiked metal stud. At that moment, the jewel of the saber shimmers and an image forms before his eyes.

A group of men riding on horses were chasing a man—or it at least kind of looked like a man, but his face was more reptilian—through the woods, appearing to be carrying what looked to be ropes. Eventually, the men on horseback catch up and surround the reptile-man, throwing lassos and tying him up, causing him to fall to the ground.

The reptilian man attempts to fight back, but the other men aren’t deterred and merely wrap more of the ropes around his form, binding him before riding away, dragging the strange humanoid reptile with them. The said reptile claws at the ground to stop it, his face shifting to that of a normal human’s in the process.

“Help me…!” He cries out in fear and desperation as he continues digging his fingers into the dirt, but it was no use…

“Nick…? Nick!” Hank’s voice snaps the Grimm back to reality, gasping in shock at what he just saw before turning to face his partner, who was looking at him in clear concern. “You okay, man? You went still all of a sudden and seemed out of it.” Hank asks, worried.

“Sorry, I… I guess I spaced out there.” Nick says, unsure of what just happened, then sees the slight glow of the saber, which he covers up with his jacket sleeve before his partner could see it, then holds up the strange leather he found. “Take a look at this… Could be something from the saddle from one of the horse riders.” He says, trying to change the subject, which thankfully worked.

“You’re asking the wrong guy.” Hank says with his hands up in surrender, Nick chuckling as he pulls out an evidence bag and puts the leather in. “No barns, no horses.” The other detective then notes.

“What were these horses doing on private property?” Nick can’t help but question. “And what the hell was that I just saw? Some sort of vision of what happened here?” He ponders in thought, looking down at the saber again, his eyes narrowing when he sees a shimmer in the gemstone.

“Whatever it was, I bet it was your doing…” He thought, a bit annoyed. Damn thing’s been quiet for weeks and now decides to act up. “What do you think?” Nick asks Hank as he passes the piece of evidence to him, the two turning and start making their way out of the woods.

“Medieval.” Is all Hank says in response. Nick thinking back to his strange vision and had to agree.

“Hey, what’s up?” Nick says, having answered Juliette’s phone call to him when he arrived at the precinct.

“Some very exciting laundry.” His girlfriend says in a joking tone.

“Ah, no wonder you called.” He jokes back, currently walking to his desk, carrying the strange piece of leather in an evidence bag in hand.

“Actually, I’m going to the grocery store, so I wanted to check in with you about our anniversary dinner.” Juliette tells him, then seems to pause. “You do remember that, right?” She questions, Nick holding back a groan. Honestly, with all that had been going, he had completely forgotten about it.

“Dinner? When have I ever forgotten dinner?” He ends saying to throw her off.

“Ha, okay, so you’re saying you want peanut butter and jelly tomorrow night?” Juliette playfully asks, with Nick feeling relieved it worked.

“No, I’m saying that my time with you has been the best three years of my life, and I wouldn’t change a second.” He tells her with a smile. “And, uh, flank steak sounds great.” He adds, arriving at his desk which he sits down at.

“Okay, anything else?” The veterinarian inquires.

“Uh, no, just you.” Nick replies while looking at the strange piece of evidence, the vision he experienced flashing through his mind, displayed on his computer were pictures of horse saddles, though none had anything remotely resembling the studded leather scrap.

“Do you want me with green beans or asparagus?” Juliette asks next.

“Just butter.” Nick replies, honestly more focused on his case at the moment.

“Wow. I love you, I think.” The woman says with a playful tone.

“I love you too.” Nick tells her then ends the call, continuing to search for any clues that could pertain to this strange case, maybe even make sense of that vision he experienced. Once again, his gaze drifted to the bracelet on his wrist, secretly a powerful weapon, though it hasn’t been a gauntlet since Soledad.

“We got a hit on one of the bloody prints from the cabin.” Hank announces as he walks over, but pauses as he catches sight of the bracelet on his partner’s wrist. “Didn’t know you were a jewelry man.” He remarks.

“Huh?” Nick says then remembers the bracelet was no longer covered by his jacket and so was out on full display. “Oh, this…” He sighs, not sure what to say, so he decides to go with the lie he told Juliette. “It’s some sort of family heirloom, from my dad’s side. I just recently found it among the stuff my aunt left me and after putting it on, I couldn’t bear the thought of taking it off.” He tells Hank.

Honestly, ever since the saber found its way onto his arm, even after taking its bracelet form, Nick had tried to remove it, but it was almost like it wouldn’t let him. So, he was forced to wear it everywhere, at least he came up with a good story to tell people when they inquire about it.

“Okay, cool.” Hank says then places a file on Nick’s desk before sitting down at his own. “Anyways, the prints were a match for one Dimitri Skontos. Three priors for misdemeanor possession, served one year off a cocaine rap, released on probation last month.” He informs his partner who was looking over the file.

“Nothing more violent than possession?” Nick can’t help but question.

“Drugs are a slippery slope, in case you didn’t know that.” The other detective states, having a point.

“Yeah I’ve heard rumors.” The Grimm-detective says as he searches for info of their suspect. “Well, I’ve got registration on Dimitri’s car. Put out an APB. What do you got?” He says then asks.

“His parole officer, Leo Taymor. He’s waiting for us at his office.” Hank replies.

“Let’s go.” Nick says as he stands up, grabbing his jacket.

“So, what did he do?” Leo Taymor asks, leading the two detectives to his office.

“We placed him at a murder.” Nick tells him as the three arrive at their destination.

“Oh, hell, I didn’t expect that. Share any details?” The parole officer says then inquires.

“Couple out in Forest Grove. Broke into the house. Murdered them.” Hank recounts.

“Wait a minute. You—you sure you got the right guy? That doesn’t sound like Dimitri.” Leo questions while pouring some coffee into his mug.

“Well, we’ve got his bloody fingerprints at the scene of the crime.” Nick states.

“Ugh, damn.” Taymor grunts then goes to sit at his desk. “Look, from what I know about the guy, he didn’t go into prison bad. And I’ll know this’ll come as a shock to you, but time behind bars doesn’t always change a man for the better. He was having a hard time on the outside.” He says with the two detectives taking seats themselves.

“So how’d he get paroled?” Nick then questions.

“Heh, that’s not my job.” Taymor says in response.

“When was the last time Dimitri checked in with you?” The Grimm asks next.

“Oh, um, you know… Actually, he was…” Leo starts, putting on a pair of glasses and sifts through the stuff on his desk, pulling out Dimitri’s file. “A no-show this week, and then I didn’t violate him. Figured I cut him some slack.” He tells them, taking off his glasses and notices their expressions. “Maybe that was a mistake.” He admits.

“So, does Dimitri have a job?” Nick then inquires.

“Um, yeah, he, uh—he works for his uncle over at the boxing gym on eighth.” The parole officer tells them.

“I know it.” Hank says as he and Nick get up from the chairs.

“Oh, you know, it’s too bad. Dimitri was hoping to be the next Sugar Ray.” Leo adds as the detective leave his office, letting out a sigh.

After leaving the parole office, the two detective partners make their way to the gym where Dimitri trained and worked, finding it filled with costumers.

“Stick and move. Come on, stay on the balls of your feet. All right, stay at it.” A man coaches two men currently in the ring.

“Gus Pappas?” Nick calls to the man, getting his attention.

“Yeah?” The man, Gus, says as he walks over to the detectives.

“Uh, we understand your nephew Dimitri Skontos works here.” Nick begins.

“Yeah, that’s my sister’s kid.” The gym owner confirms.

“Well, we need to talk to him.” Nick tells him.

“Why?” Pappas questions.

“A married couple was murdered last night.” Hank tells him.

“There’s no way Dimitri could have anything to do with that.” The coach denies.

“Well, there’s evidence that puts him at the scene.” Nick states.

“So if you know anything, sir, you should tell us.” Hank then advises.

“Well, I haven’t seen or heard from him in a couple weeks.” Gus tells the duo.

“And that doesn’t worry you?” Nick questions.

“Well, yeah, it worries me. But he’s a grown man, he can take care of himself.” The older man states.

“What about his mother?” Hank inquires.

“She died about four years ago. I’m the only family Dimitri has.” The gym owner replies. “Look, he’s a good kid. He did some drugs a while back, but he’s straightened out. He couldn’t kill anybody.” He then states firmly.

“Anybody else in here know him?” Hank asks next.

“Well, most of the guys do.” Pappas replies as he looks around the gym. “Uh, Bryan there probably knows him best.” He says while pointing out a man who was lifting weights by the mirror.

“Would you happen to have any recent photos of Dimitri?” Hank then asks.

“Oh, yeah, up in my office.” Gus replies and leads the man to said office, while Nick approaches Bryan to talk, noting the rhino head tattoo on his arm, before the man himself woges into a rhino-like creature.

“Looking good.” He says, getting the Wesen’s attention, turning to him while still woged and immediately stiffens.

“What the hell?” Bryan says, clearly spooked. Nick internally groans.

“Yeah, I have that effect on some people.” He admits.

“Really?” The Wesen says, putting down the weights, seeming less scared.

“Look, we don’t have to go there now. I’m here for another reason.” Nick says.

“I think I can take you.” Bryan says, cocky, the Grimm holding back a groan.

“Listen to me. I got a double murder, and I want you to answer some questions. So you can either answer them or, you know, I can let you cool off in jail for a couple days.” The detectives tells the boxer, who contemplates his words.

“Sorry, okay? I just got a little worked up when I saw you, that’s all.” Bryan apologizes.

“All right.” Nick says, glancing around in case anyone was nearby before turning back to the boxer. “So where can I find Dimitri Skontos?” He then asks.

“Don’t know. Last time I saw him was a couple weeks ago. He came in, we worked out. Then he went for a run.” The Wesen boxer replies and recounts.

“This photo was taken last month.” Hank says as he comes over, showing them a picture of Gus with a younger man. Nick freezes when he sees his face, the same one he saw in his vision being dragged away by the men on horseback.

“That’s Dimitri…?” He asks, taking the photo to get a better look at it.

“Yeah, that’s him alright. We threw a party for Dimitri when he got paroled.” Bryan confirms then shares.

“Nick? You okay man?” Hank asks his partner, noticing his perplexed expression.

“Yeah, just…” Nick stammers, not knowing how to explain his vision of Dimitri. “Bryan, earlier you said Dimitri went for a run before he disappeared. Where do you guys go for said run?” He recalls and asks.

“Forest Park. Man, all the guys here run there.” Bryan answers him.

“Where?” Nick asks next.

“I’ll show you. I’m getting ready to go for a run now. You two can follow me.” The Rhino-like Wesen suggests then smiles. “That is, if you can keep up.” He says with a chuckle, picking up the weight he was pumping earlier and puts it back on a nearby rack.

“Oh, to be young.” Hank remarks then walks away, Nick glancing at him before looking back to Bryan.

“Hold on real quick…” He speaks, getting the Wesen’s attention. “What kind of Wesen is Dimitri?” He asks, wondering what he saw in the vision had any more relevance.

“Skalenzahne,” Bryan answers him, though the Grimm was only confused.

“Is that a, reptile…?” He asks for specifics.

“Yeah, a crocodile to be exact. Why?” The Rhino Wesen answers then inquires.

“Just curious. Lead the way.” Nick replies then says, Bryan looking at him in confusion, then goes to get ready for his run, while the Grimm was contemplating what he had just learned, again glancing down at the Knight-Saber.

The detectives follow after the young boxer to Forest Park, Bryan parking his truck outside a trail cutting through the wooded area, Hank and Nick also parking their car, before all getting out to talk.

“Now this is a good place to run.” Bryan says as he walks toward the trail, now wearing a sweatshirt and a beanie hat, Nick and Hank with him. “It’s cool up here, the air is clean. Not too many people around, so you can clear your head.” He continues as they come to the start of the trail.

“Now what’s your usual route?” Nick inquires.

“You’re looking at it.” Bryan replies pointing down the trail. “Usually do about ten miles, couple hours’ worth, up and around Trapper’s Peak.” He describes, then notices the duo’s expressions. “Why? You coming?” He asks them.

“Have fun.” Hank replies, answering the boxer’s question.

“All right.” Bryan says, placing some earbuds in his ears then starts running the trail through the woods. Nick takes out his phone, pulling up GPS, then he and Hank start walking the trail themselves.

“So how long you think it’d take us to do ten miles?” He poses the question.

“Depends on how fast we drive.” Hank says back jokingly.

“You know, the murder site’s only six miles from here.” Nick then notes.

“And that’s significant why?” His partner questions.

“Well, he could have come from here to commit the murders.” The Grimm states.

“That’s horse manure.” Hank says in response.

“Hey, it’s as good a theory we have.” The detective defends his theory.

“No. Over there.” His partner points to a pile of, what could only be, horse poop.

“More horses.” Nick notes as he approaches the manure to get a better look, at that moment Hank’s phone began ringing. “Well, it’s not exactly evidence I wanna present in court.” The Grimm remarks.

“Griffin,” Hank answers his phone while his partner looks around the area.

Truthfully, being out in the middle of the woods, Nick couldn’t help but recall the dream he had last night; walking through a forest then being attacked by—what he assumed were—Wesen, then using the Knight-Saber to fight and slay them all, cutting their heads off as was apparently known for his ancestors.

“Nick,” Hank then calls out, bringing him back to the present. “Patrol found Dimitri’s car near an abandoned warehouse in Linnton. They’re sitting on it till we get there.” He tells him before turning around and heading back the way they came. Nick couldn’t help but glance into the woods again before following after his partner.

After returning to their car, the two drive down to Linnton, finding the same officer they talked with at the crime scene that day, waiting for them.

“Welcome to paradise.” Sergeant Franco greets sarcastically as the two detectives get out of the car.

“You always take us to the best places.” Hank says back, also in a sarcastic tone.

“Okay, so, we’ve got an abandoned ‘91 Acura registered to one Dimitri Skontos. Gone over by the local scavengers. There’s not much left. Engine’s gone, tires are gone, radio’s gone… Seats are gone.” Franco starts as he leads the duo to said car, which had practically been stripped down to its bare form. “They left some beer bottles in the back. Empty, and, uh, they took the steering wheel.” He adds as the detectives look it over.

“No bodies or blood?” Nick questions.

“Negative.” Officer Franco replies.

“Better have it gone over just for old time’s sake.” Hank suggests.

“Just waiting for you to give it your blessing, sir.” The officer says then turns and heads back for his car to call it in. The two detectives stay with the car, when Nick hears something and turns to see a figure in a dark hood head into one of the nearby warehouses.

“Guy checking us out.” He tells his partner.

“Where?” Hank asks while looking around, having just missed the guy.

“Building. Just went back inside.” Nick replies and then heads for said building, the other man behind him. “If he was here last night, he might have seen something.” He states.

“It’s worth asking. We’re not gonna get anything from Dimitri’s car.” Hank agrees as they make their way into the building, Sergeant Franco joining them. “Okay, where’d he go?” Hank asks as they seemed to lose the mystery man once inside.

“Oh, we got some blood here.” Nick notices after they go up a small flight of stairs, then step through a doorway into a large open area.

“Hey! Police! Anybody here!?” Hank calls out but receives no reply.

“Well, there was something here, I saw him.” Nick swears as Sergeant Franco was looking around with his flashlight.

“There’s more blood.” Hank then points out and they all look down to see blood staining the floor. “Here, call forensics. We’ll keep looking.” He then says, taking the policeman’s flashlight, Nick bringing out his own. The officer heading out to call it in, the two detectives continuing to search the place. “Oh, man. Whole mess of blood and weird-ass symbols.” Hank grumbles at the sight.

“The lettering looks Latin.” Nick notes while standing in the center of the strange symbol painted on the floor, blood stains scattered about.

“Looks like some kind of arena.” Hank speculates as Nick takes a couple pictures of the markings with his phone.

“Yeah. For something bloody.” The Grimm-detective agrees

“Cockfights?” His partner guesses.

“That’d be some pretty big chickens.” Nick states, having finished taking pictures.

“And wearing some big shoes.” Hank remarks, noticing the shoe prints on the floor.

“Maybe it was some kind of bareknuckle fighting.” Nick theorizes as the two start circling around the symbol.

“It’s a lot of blood for bareknuckle fighting.” The other detective points out.

“Maybe they’re using more than their fists.” His partner suggests next before aiming his light higher, noticing more symbols painted and hung up from the second story of the warehouse. “You have any idea what these symbols are?” He asks Hank, who turns his attention to the markings as well.

“It’s not any taggers or gang signs I’ve ever seen.” The other detective says, more than a little confused. As Nick looks around the strange arena, he’s suddenly overcome with a strange feeling, like he’s been in something like this before. Just then, the jewel of the saber shimmers and he finds himself somewhere else…

He found himself standing in the middle of an ancient-looking arena, surrounded by howling spectators, dressed in leather armor plus a familiar gauntlet on his right arm. He was facing three men, dressed in similar armor with shields and different weapons for each. Above the arena was a balcony where a man dressed like royalty was looking down at them with an almost sadistic smile.

“Fight!” A voice then exclaims and the three men all woge before his eyes, all lion-like in appearance. The Wesen trio roar as they charge at him, weapons raised, ready to strike him down. Acting quickly, he blocks their attacks with his gauntlet, before retaliating with the blade from it, the crowd cheering loudly at the sight as he fights the three Wesen.

Eventually though, he’s caught in a stalemate with one of them. He grunts as he’s pushed back, noticing the other two coming for the attack while he was occupied with the third. Before one could slice him down though, he musters the strength to push the one holding him away and allowing him to block the attack of another, then maneuvering his blade to twist the weapon out of the lion-man’s grip.

He howls then his gauntlet changes, shifting its form into a pata-sword, which he uses to cut down all three of his opponents. The crowd goes nuts, enjoying the sick entertainment, then he looks up at the royal man, who seems to scowl. With a fierce look of defiance on his face, he raises his sword/gauntlet, pointing it right at the said man, showing he will never break…

“Nick! Hey!” A voice calls, along with fingers snapping in his face, snapping him back to reality and he turns to see the worried face of his partner. “You sure you’re okay? You keep spacing out now and again.” Hank asks, concerned.

“I, uh…” Nick stammers, not sure how to reply, considering he doesn’t even know what the heck that was, though he had an idea where it came from… His gaze was then drawn to a streak of blood across the floor, which he follows, coming upon a support beam that had familiar studded leather along with a couple of medieval-looking weapons hung on it.

“Part of a morning star.” Hank notes, having followed his partner. “Medieval weapon.” He says, relating back to how he said this case was looking medieval.

“There’s some pretty sick stuff going on in here.” Nick remarks, also reminded of the vision he just experienced.

“Looks like the strap we found outside the house.” Hank recognizes the leather.

“Hey, guys, over here! He’s running!” They hear Sergeant Franco shouting and turn to see him running after, what they could only presume to be, their mystery man, towards the back entrance of the warehouse. The two detectives run after them, only when they left the building found just the policeman, who was kneeling down, holding his face in clear pain, quickly rushing to his side.

“I caught him, for about two seconds.” The officer says, his face bloodied.

“What happened to you?” Nick asks upon seeing the man’s bashed nose. Nearby, a motor was heard revving.

“He had something in his hand. I don’t know what it was, but it hurt.” Franco tells them, the three lawmen also witnessing the suspect get away on a boat.

“We better get you checked out, come on.” Hank then says, helping the policeman to his feet.

“The son of a bitch is fast.” Franco groans as he’s led away by the detectives.

Nick pausing as he glances down at the Knight-Saber, the strange vision still fresh in his mind. He couldn’t help but wonder, what that had to do with all this, as it seemed that these visions he was getting had some sort of connection to the case he was now working. Shaking his head, he follows after his fellow policemen.

Back at the bullpen, Nick and Hank were at their desk computers to hopefully look up information on what they found at the warehouse.

“Crossbows, morning stars, whips. Good god.” Hank says as he looks up the weapons they found, while Nick uploads the pictures he took on his monitor. “So we’re dealing with some kind of combat fighting, like a gladiator fight club.” He speculates, sliding his chair out to face his partner.

“And who signs up for that?” Nick questions, once again remembering the vision he had in the warehouse.

“Friends, Romans, and countrymen.” His partner lists.

“Or slaves…” The Grimm added in thought. “So how does Dimitri’s car end up down by an abandoned warehouse in Linnton?” He then poses.

“He’s a boxer. We found evidence of a fight.” Hank says in response.

“So how does Dimitri end up in the woods killing two people?” Nick asks next.

“And who in the hell speaks Latin?” The other detective adds, the two looking at the Latin scripture on Nick’s screen, before turning their attention to the office of a certain police captain.

“Scire mori sors prima viris sed proxima cogi. ‘Man’s first happiness is to know how to die. His second… Is to be forced to die’.” Renard reads then translates the scripture, before noticing the looks his detectives were giving him. “Along with studying antiques, I took a bit of Latin back in high school. Thought I was going to be a doctor, or maybe an archeologist.” He tells them. “So who the hell are these people?” He then asks while looking through the photos.

“We don’t know.” Nick says in response.

“We found a leather strap at the murder sit, and a similar piece of leather at the warehouse. Where we believe a fight was held.” Hank recounts.

“It looks like they’re using ancient weapons. And based on the amount of blood, I’d say it’s pretty brutal.” Nick follows after.

“We just got a lab report back which matches blood found on the strap with blood at the fight.” The other detective then reports.

“It’s Dimitri Skontos’ blood, our prime suspect in the murders.” The Grimm says.

“Do we know how this all ties together yet?” Renard inquires.

“Not until we find out who’s behind this fight.” Hank states.

“Right now, our best lead is tracking down whoever owns that warehouse.” Nick points out.

“Good.” Renard says while studying the leather strap, the detective partners turning to leave. “One moment, detectives.” The captain calls, making them stop and turn back, just as he puts the strap down.

“Is there something else, sir?” Nick asks, Hank himself confused.

“Actually, this is about Soledad Marquesa.” Renard replies and Nick tenses up.

“What about him?” Hank asks.

“Forensics came back on the body. Apparently, he wasn’t shot like many of us had assumed.” Sean informs them.

“What? Then how’d he die?” Hank asks, Nick trying to keep himself from reacting.

“According to the ME, he was stabbed. There were traces an unknown metal in his wound. You two wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” Renard says then asks. Nick remembers how he fought Soledad while Hank was down, the saber first coming to him during said fight and then using its blade to run the Schakal straight through, killing him.

“No, not at all sir.” Hank answers, admittedly just as confused, while Nick stays quiet. “Wait a minute… Kolt was there.” The detective then recalls.

“Kolt?” The police captain inquires.

“Farley Kolt, the guy we arrested when we found Flynn and Hans dead. Ballistics cleared him of the shooting, so he was released and was going to help us find Soledad. Maybe he had a hidden dagger or something we didn’t know about and took Soledad out. He has been in the wind since then.” Hank speculates, Nick again keeping silent throughout.

The Grimm knows it isn’t true, because he killed Soledad. Kolt no doubt saw the whole thing and that was when he headed back to his hotel room, Nick having followed him and learned more about the saber and its connection to his family, before asking to see Marie’s grave as he left. Nick hasn’t seen the Steinadler since and had no idea where he went. Unconsciously, the detective touches the saber on his wrist, an act which did not go unnoticed by his captain.

“That’s an interesting bracelet, Burkhardt,” Renard says, catching Nick’s attention. “Never thought you would be the one wearing jewelry to work.” He then remarks.

“Yeah, it’s…it’s a family heirloom. Recently found it. Apparently it originally belonged to my grandfather.” Nick says, technically both a lie and the truth.

“Looks nice on you.” Sean compliments. With nothing else, the two detectives leave the office, the captain turning his attention back to the piece of leather with the metal stud spike, his eyes narrowing.

Leo Taymor was walking through a parking garage, when suddenly a car came in barreling towards him. The parole officer runs, but soon finds himself backed against a wall, literally bouncing off the hood of the car, which stops before it hit him dead on. The door then opens and a figure steps out, revealing Sean Renard himself.

“What the hell is your problem?” Leo asks the police captain.

“You’re my problem.” Renard replies as he approaches the other man. “Your little blood sport has gotten out of hand.” He then states.

“We had one escape. We caught him.” Taymor says in response.

“After he murdered two people.” The police captain states.

“Not a perfect world.” The parole officer says back, dismissive.

“You screwed up.” Renard hisses.

“You know what happens when they get a taste of it.” Taymor says with a scoff and amused chuckle.

“We had an agreement. I gave you a list. There were specific names on it. You were not to deviate from it.” The police captain states. “Dimitri Skontos was not on that list.” He then says poignantly.

“He was on my list.” Leo replies, only for the other man to nail him in the gut.

“You have no list. There is only my list. In my canton, under my conditions.” Sean states, clearly angered.

“Gangbangers and meth addicts don’t make good fighters.” Taymor grunts. “They don’t even know how to die. Where’s the sport in that?” He says next.

“So you decided to pick one of your ex-cons out on parole, with family in the city.” Renard then puts together, clearly not crazy with it.

“He’s exceptional. He’s won six straight fights. He loves the taste of blood.” Leo states. “The purse is the largest it’s ever been. You’ll get your tribute.” He then tells the other man.

“I don’t care about the money. Shut, it, down… Before your greed and stupidity ruin us both.” The police captain demands in a warning tone of voice, then turns and starts walking back to his car.

“I don’t know if it’s your call anymore.” Taymor says next, making Renard pause in his stride and turn back to the other man. “There’s too much money involved. Times have changed, Your Highness. Royalty ain’t what it used to be.” He says with a cocky tone, only for the police captain to pull out his gun and shove it into his chest, making him flinch as he’s pushed back against the wall again.

“You’re right. In the old days, I would’ve had you drawn and quartered. Now clean up this mess, or I’ll clean it up for you.” Renard threatens, but Taymor was smiling

“You and I are in this together, whether you like it or not. So I’d be more careful on how you treat me.” He says, smug. Sean stares at him for a moment, before eventually lowering his firearm and the other man starts walking away. “Though, if Dimitri is the problem than we’ll need a replacement for him. How about that Burkhart? I can tell, he has a real warrior’s spirit.” He suggests, only to get the butt of a gun to the back of the head.

“Don’t, push it.” Renard snarls as he steps over the fallen parole officer then gets into his car before driving away, Leo left on the parking lot ground, groaning as he rubs the forming bump on the back of his head.

Meanwhile, Nick was at the trailer, looking for some explanation to the case he was working. Starting with the weapons cabinet, he opens it to find a morning star inside, just like the broken one found in the warehouse. Taking said weapon out, he looks through the cabinet again, finding a familiar spiked leather, some sort of wrist guard.

He then begins looking through the various journals stored in the trailer, pausing when he finds an entry that had pictures of lion-like men in what appeared to be gladiator-like fighting. Almost exactly like in the vision he had at the warehouse. Turning the page, he finds another image, this one of a man on a horse appearing to be capturing a lion-man—Löwen, according to the entry—only to be startled by the sound of someone knocking on the trailer door.

“Nick, it’s me.” Monroe’s voice calls and the Grimm turns and opens the door—after checking through the window to make sure it was Monroe—for the Blutbad as he steps inside, noticing the detective looking out real quick. “No, no, it’s cool. I took care of it, man. I did what you said.” The clockmaker says. A while back he got jumped by some Wesen for his connection to Nick so they are being cautious.

“I went around my block three times, once through the park, down through the northeast. I took one trolley and then another one back to my car…” Monroe then starts describe, resulting in him basically rambling.

“Okay, I get it. Thank you for coming.” Nick quickly stops him and says, grateful.

“No, dude. Thank you. I mean, this is like my third time being in here, but, dude, this place is like… The national archives of the freaking Smithsonian of Grimm-ology.” The Blutbad says in utter awe of everything.

“I mean, just the sheer historical value of everything in here is—is…” He starts again but then notices the Grimm’s expression. “Really nothing I would ever share with anyone else ever.” The clock-repairman swears, sincere. “So what do you need from me?” He then asks.

“What do you know about Löwen?” Nick inquires.

“Ah, well, I know they’ll rip your face off and then eat it.” Monroe replies.

“Yeah, well, what about, uh… Combat fighting?” The Grimm asks next, sitting down at the trailer desk.

“Oh, you’re talking about Gladiator Löwen.” The Blutbad says. “They are fierce. They’re fueled by generations of bitterness. You know, just imagine— One day, you’re king of your own jungle, right? Minding your own business. Then suddenly you’re in a net being dragged off to Rome and thrown in a Gladiator pit.” He explains and describes, His words honestly striking a cord in Nick.

Once again, he recalls the vision of himself fighting against—what he now knew had to be Löwen—in an arena. Now that he thought about it, the whole thing was just like a gladiator fight, he was even dressed like one… Not to mention in the vision he was wielding the Knight-Saber. Wait, could it have been a memory of a past bearer? Kolt did mention something about inheriting the memory and spirit of previous saber-bearers. Either way, this all spelled trouble.

“Could… Could these fights be happening, today?” He asks his Wesen friend.

“Oh, well, I don’t know. I mean… Fighting for sport isn’t unique to Wesen. If there’s money in it, I’m sure they could be pulling that gladiator crap today.” Monroe replies, unfortunately having a point.

“Okay, well, what if a… Löwen… Was capturing other Wesen and forcing them to fight?” Nick poses, considering the vision of Dimitri he had earlier was a lot like how the books described Löwen being captured.

“Look, a hundred years ago, there was always a Wesen disappearing from some hamlet, you know? But nowadays? I don’t know.” Monroe answers with a scoff.

“If these fights were happening today, how could I find out about them?” Nick asks next.

“I don’t know, man. Löwen keep to themselves. The pride mentality.” The Blutbad states. “But I do know a guy who knows a guy who’s, like, marginally into the fight thing. I could—Wow.” He says next but gets distracted by the morning star, which he picks up.

“Can you imagine getting hit with one of these? That’s gotta be a bell ringer.” He remarks, Nick sighing as he reaches up to rub his temples, the sleeve of his jacket rising up slightly and exposing the saber. “Ooh, cool bracelet there, man. Where did you get it?” The clockmaker awes then inquires.

“It’s, actually kind of a family heirloom. Belonged to my grandfather, he left it to my dad when he died, and I sort of, found it…” Nick ends up telling Monroe, not sure how to explain it was actually an ancient weapon, considering the Blutbad himself said he knew nothing about the Knight-Saber last time he had asked.

“Cool. Hey is it okay if I take a closer look?” Monroe comments then asks. Nick feels unsure, still not entirely knowing what this thing could do. Nervously, he fiddles with the bracelet a little, which to his surprise, ends up slipping off from his wrist and he holds it up to look at it, before passing the jewelry to the Blutbad, who immediately begins admiring it.

“Oh, wow… This is beautiful craftsmanship. Just look at the detail, gorgeous.” The bearded man compliments as he turns the bracelet over a few times, studying the designs with clear fascination and awe. “Your grandfather sure had good taste. Where’d he get it from? I want one.” He remarks then inquires with a joking tone.

“I guess you could say it’s one of a kind.” Nick tells him.

“I can tell. Incredible…” Monroe says, still in awe then notices the detective staring at him. “Oh, sorry, here. It must be very valuable.” He says, handing the bracelet back to the other man.

“Yeah, you could say that…” Nick admits as he looks down at the saber, swearing he saw a shimmer in the jewel but it was gone as soon as he blinks.

“You know, you don’t really talk about your parents all that much.” Monroe then notes and Nick was noticeably rattled. “Oh, sorry if that’s a sore topic. I didn’t mean anything by it…” The Blutbad apologizes, feeling bad.

“It’s fine… Just, hard to talk about.” The Grimm admits, fiddling with the bracelet.

“When you’re ready.” Monroe tells him with a sincere expression.

“Thanks, Monroe.” Nick says as he puts the saber back on his wrist.

Chapter Text

Nick struggles as he’s held underwater, desperately holding his breath as to not drown. Eventually, his head is pulled back up, allowing him to take deep inhales of dry air. He looks around, finding himself held by two men dressed in Roman armor and before a familiar man dressed like a king, complete with a crown designed as a golden wreath on his head.

“Anything to say now?” The king-like man asks with a cruel smile. Nick however looks up at him with a fierce glare.

“You can do…whatever you want to me… But I will never, submit!” He spits back, literally as he spat into the man’s eye, causing him to recoil before turning back to him with a glare.

“Hold him under again.” The royal man orders and the two guards thrust Nick’s head back into the water, him barely having the time to take a breath to hold.

After some time, he’s dragged to a cell and thrown inside, the guards locking the door as he laid on the ground, still gasping for breath after nearly being drowned multiple times. The man with the crown then steps forward, practically sneering as he stares down at him.

“I hope you’re ready for what’s to come. Cause you’ll be facing the Great Beasts tomorrow. I will enjoy watching them tear you limb from limb… Hahaha!” He says with a cruel laugh then walks away, the guards following after him. Nick slumps against a nearby wall, trying to rest to regain his strength for his upcoming fight.

“No one has ever survived facing the Great Beats, you know?” A gravelly voice speaks, Nick turning to the cell next door, only accessible via a very small hole in the stone wall.

“I’ve heard. Who knows though, I just might be the first.” Nick says in response. Despite the brave front he was putting up through, he was worried, having heard of the Great Beasts and their bloody reputation.

“Hm… You have great courage, and a true warrior’s spirit within you, I can tell.” The other prisoner remarks in an impressed tone of voice. “I might have something that can help.” The faceless man says next, getting Nick’s attention. After a bit, hearing some shuffling from the other side of the wall before something is stuck through the hole, some sort of, gauntlet…

“What is it?” Nick asks as he gets up and walks closer to get a better look.

“Manus Gloriæ… The Hand of Glory… For that is what it will bring you in battle. If, it finds you worthy.” The unknown figure tells him. “I have kept it safe all this time from the emperor. He doesn’t even know about it.” He adds, Nick staring at the gauntlet in awe, memorized by its beauty and feels almost like it was calling out to him. He tentatively reaches for it, but stops just short of touching it.

“Are you sure about this? Why haven’t you used it?” He asks the mystery prisoner, wondering if this perhaps was a trap.

“I myself wasn’t deemed worthy to wear it. It only grants power to those it deems can wield it.” Said prisoner replies. “It is ultimately your choice to accept or not… Will you remain a slave? Or will you will take your destiny in hand?” He asks next. Nick contemplates the stranger’s words, before making his decision. He takes hold of the gauntlet, holding it up and gazing into the large blue jewel on top…

Before raising his right hand and slides the armored glove onto it. He lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in, staring down at the gauntlet now on his hand, swearing he saw a shimmer within the gemstone. Just then, he felt a rush of intense-searing pain run through his body, originating from his right arm, which he was clutching tightly with his left hand.

“Ahh!” He cries out from the pain, dropping down to one knee, gritting his teeth as he tries to endure. After a couple of moments, his breathing evens out and he let’s go of his now armored hand.

“It has chosen you… Now, rise! Fight! For your freedom… And for revenge against the Romans! For all the innocent souls they’ve enslaved and sent to their deaths!” The man from the other cell says then encourages as Nick starts standing back up. “Now, state your name…” The prisoner then says and Nick in turn raises his right arm with the gauntlet now firmly in place.

“I am Spartacus, of the Thracians!” He declares loudly, a blade extending from the gauntlet as the jewel glows bright.

Nick startles awake. He looks around, finding himself in his bedroom, before turning to the other side of the bed, finding Juliette next to him, sleeping soundly. He then looks to his clock, finding it was 6:34 in the morning. He groans, reaching up and rubbing his eyes, a bit annoyed at waking up so early. Like a lot these days, his attention is drawn to the bracelet on his wrist. Ever since it had come into his life, things have gotten strange. Which says a lot considering the whole “Grimm” thing.

Figuring he wasn’t going to be getting anymore sleep, he begrudgingly decides to get up—maybe make some breakfast for his girlfriend considering she made it yesterday—when the images of the dream he just had flash in his mind, and he recalls the name; Spartacus, the famous gladiator and rebel from Ancient Rome. He recalls Kolt telling him the man was a previous holder of the saber, and that honestly made him curious.

Nick decides to look into it and so gets out of bed—making sure not to accidently wake Juliette—then heads downstairs to the house computer. Once sat at the monitor, Nick types Spartacus into the search engine and clicks “enter”. After the results pop up, he clicks on a link to a website reciting the story of the gladiator, which also has an image of the man in battle.

Enlarging said image, Nick blinks in surprise as the gladiator seemed to look a lot like himself. Then again, this was an artist interpretation and probably wasn’t too accurate, still… He then notices something and zooms in on the revolutionary’s right wrist, finding a wide silver cuff bracelet with a blue gemstone on it. Though different, it was very similar to the accessory he himself wore…bore…

Later that day, Monroe pulls up outside of a local pub, exiting then locking his car, the Blutbad makes his way inside, immediately going to speak with the bartender who was wiping down the bar.

“Sauly here?” He asks and the man gestures to a man sitting by the window who was on the phone.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. No, no, no, no, seven to four. Yeah. Yeah, okay. You’re covered.” The man says to the receiver as Monroe approaches.

“You Sauly?” The Blutbad asks, getting the man, Sauly’s, attention.

“I’m on the phone.” He states, tapping said phone for emphasis.

“Buddy of mine says you could find me some action.” Monroe says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Sorry, I’m back.” Sauly rebukes then returns to his call. The clockmaker then leans down, looking the other man in the eye, before woging, making the bookie woge himself, revealing him to be a Mauzhertz. Monroe growls while Sauly whimpers, finally ending the call and giving the other Wesen his full attention.

“All right, all right, look, I got, uh, pigskin, hoops. Got a line on a greyhound, five to three. 100% guaranteed return. For you, on the house, no juice.” The bookie says and offers, having returned to his human face, Monroe doing the same as he also backs away before taking a seat.

“I don’t bet on dogs.” The clockmaker/repairman refutes. “I’m looking for real competition. Something with a little more, um… Life and death to it.” He says with clear intent.

“What makes you think I got that kind of thing to offer?” Sauly questions.

“Word is, you track the hardcore stuff.” Monroe replies.

“You’re talking Löwen Games.” The Mauzhertz puts together, making sure to say it quietly so that no one else overheard. “I don’t cover them.” He states. Monroe then glances over his shoulder before pulling something out from his coat’s inner pocket.

“Bet you know who does.” He says, sliding some money over to the bookie, who takes the dollars, quickly hiding them in his own coat, then writes something on a paper napkin.

“Be here by 6:00. Someone will meet you and give directions to the fight. It’s tonight. That’s all I know.” Sauly says as Monroe takes the napkin.

“What about a bet?” The Blutbad then asks, and the two men start laughing at the same time.

“They’ll take care of you ringside.” The Mauzhertz explains.

“Of course.” Monroe says with a nervous chuckle before getting up and leaving the pub. Pulling out his phone, he starts dialing Nick’s number, while also unlocking and opening his car door, then hops into the driver’s seat just as the call connects, making sure close his car door so no one overheard the conversation.

At the precinct, Nick appeared to be working, though his mind was truthfully still on the saber. His thoughts going back to the dream he had and then wandering to his grandfather, Adrian… Honestly, if this thing really did hold the memories of past bearers, why hasn’t he seen any of said grandfather’s? After learning about his existence, it would be nice to get to know him, in a way. The sound of his phone ringing snaps him from his thoughts and picks it up, finding it was Monroe…

“What do you got?” He answers his Blutbad friend’s call.

“I got a line on the fight. It’s tonight.” The clockmaker informs him, immediately grabbing the detective’s full attention.

“Where?” Nick asks.

“I don’t know. I’m supposed to meet some guy at 6:00. Yeah, and he’s gonna tell me where.” Monroe replies and explains.

“As soon as you find out where the fight is, call me. I’ll take it from there.” The Grimm then instructs.

“You don’t want me to go?” Monroe asks.

“No.” Nick says in response.

“I did a little boxing in college, you know.” The Blutbad tells him.

“It’s just way too dangerous. Just call me, okay?” The detective refutes then tells the other man, poignantly.

“Okay, no, fine, if that’s the way you want it.” Monroe relents and ends the call, just as Hank walks over to Nick’s desk.

“Got a line on the owner of that warehouse.” The bearded detective says as he sits on the edge of said desk. “Died years ago. The place is in probate. City’s trying to get rid of it, but nobody’s taking responsibility.” He explains.

“Abandoned warehouse, nobody around. Perfect place for a fight.” Nick puts together.

“That’s what I’m thinking.” Hank says, just as Captain Renard approaches the two with a file in hand.

“Did you guys interview a Bryan Cooney in connection with the Weller murders?” The police captain inquires.

“Yeah, we talked to him yesterday at the gym.” Nick answers.

“He was a friend of Dimitri Skontos.” Hank then recalls.

“Well, a missing person’s report was filed on Bryan last night.” Renard tells the two detectives, handing Nick the file of said report. “Last place you saw him was at the gym?” He asks as he heads for his office.

“No. Forest Park.” Nick says as he and Hank follow behind their boss. “He was going for a run in the last place Dimitri was known to have gone.” He realizes.

“Well, Bryan’s car was found abandoned by that warehouse where the fight was held.” Sean informs as he enters his office.

“Where we found Dimitri’s car.” Hank remembers.

“Bryan and Dimitri both had the same parole officer, right?” The captain asks.

“Leo Taymor.” Nick recalls.

“We didn’t know Bryan was out on parole, but we talked to Taymor about Dimitri.” Hank admits.

“Now Bryan’s missing.” Renard points out. “You need to talk to Taymor again. He might know more than he’s telling us.” He suggests.

“Nick can follow up on Bryan’s car. I’ll talk to Taymor.” Hank suggests, his partner nodding in agreement.

“Be careful the way you handle this. Taymor works for the department of corrections. So my advice to you, you visit him at home, all right?” Sean warns then advises. “Let me know what you find out.” He says next as the two detectives leave his office to get on their tasks.

Nick arrives at the warehouse, Sergeant Franco—looking better thankfully—already waiting for him at the sight of another striped car, actually truck, Bryan’s truck.

“If I had known they were gonna dump another vehicle, I would’ve just slept here last night.” He remarks while leading Nick to the truck.

“Same M.O. Both guys went running in Forest Park, both guys wind up missing.” Nick summarizes, his phone then starts ringing.

“So I guess they just dump the cars down here to keep you off track.” Franco speculates as the detective takes out and answers his phone.

“Yeah, Burkhardt.” Nick greets, stepping a bit away for privacy.

“Hey, I’m freezing my tail off out here.” Monroe says through the phone. “They got me waiting off the St. Helen’s Highway, but nobody’s here. So what do you want me to do?” He says next then asks.

“St. Helen’s Highway? Near Linnton?” Nick inquires, getting a bad feeling.

“Oh, no, wait a minute. Here comes somebody. Yeah, it looks like a—a truck pulling some kind of horse trailer.” Monroe describes.

“A ‘horse trailer’?” The Grimm repeats, a pit forming in his stomach. “Monroe, you gotta get out of there right now.” He says, now alert.

“Why, I—” The Blutbad begins to question but is abruptly cut off.

“Monroe?” Nick asks but receives no reply and heads back to his car. “Stay with the car. I gotta go.” He tells Sergeant Franco. “Monroe! Monroe!?” He again tries to call out the Blutbad’s name, as he gets into his car, again getting no response and the call even being disconnected.

Not wasting time, Nick puts his phone aside as he starts up his car and then drives straight toward St. Helen’s Highway, which as stated before, wasn’t too far away. It didn’t take long to see Monroe’s car, being driven by another, and stops in front of it, making the mysterious driver stop in turn. Nick then got out his car while also drawing his gun.

“Put your hands where I can see them!” He demands, aiming his gun at the driver, who does as the detective says as he walks over and opens the other car door. “Get the hell out.” He orders while keeping his gun trained as the unknown man.

“Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot me.” Said man pleads, frozen in fear. Getting impatient, Nick grabs and pulls the man out of the car then shoves him to the ground.

“Where’d they take him? Tell me!” The Grimm demands, pressing his knee on the man’s chest to get him to talk.

“Take it easy! I’ll tell you!” The man concedes, clearly terrified, though neither of them noticed the shimmer from the jewel of the Knight-Saber.

Monroe grunts as he’s jostled in the back of the trailer he was inside. He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened; he went to the address to get information on the Löwen games for Nick, only for things to go south as when someone came to the location, he felt something hit him on the back of the head and he blacked out. When he came to he found himself in said trailer that was moving. After a bit, it finally stops and the trailer is opened before a group of men come in.

“Hey, what the hell!? I was trying to make a bet, man!” Monroe protests as he’s dragged out of the trailer by his captors, having been bound in chains. “You got the wrong guy! I am not a fighter!” The Blutbad cries as he’s led towards a barn, specifically an area that had a bunch of cages, some empty some with occupants in them. Immediately Monroe got a bad feeling.

“What the hell?” He says then is dragged over to an empty cage. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, guys. No, no, no, no.” He struggles as the cage is opened and the Blutbad is shoved inside. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, guys.” He starts as the cage door is locked. “This is never gonna work. I am not the Blutbad you think I am.” He tries to reason, just as Leo Taymor himself appears.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” The parole officer says with a smug/slimy smile. “Think about the fight. Better get ready.” He adds as he walks away, along with his minions.

“Guys? Hey, hey, hey, guys! Guys!” Monroe calls but is ignored, he began looking around frantically for a way out, before then hearing pained groaning and he turns to the cage next to his, finding the man inside clutching his hand. “Oh man, you don’t look so good. Are you one of the fighters? I mean, that’s what’s going on here, right?” He asks but doesn’t receive any verbal reply.

“What’s the problem? You got something stuck in your hand?” Monroe inquires, the man turning to growl at him, revealing it was Dimitri. “Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy, all right? I’ve been there.” He says, trying to calm down the other man. “When life’s not treating you so good, you blame the first guy you see, but it seems to me, we’re kind of in the same boat here.

“We should be working together, planning on how to get the hell out of here.” The Blutbad suggests but again, Dimitri ignores him in favor of his hand. “What is wrong with your hand, dude?” Monroe asks, seemingly to finally get the other Wesen’s attention. “Your hand. You got something in it, or what?” He repeats then asks.

“Here, let me take a look. Maybe I can help. I know a little first-aid, really. Scouts, man.” The clockmaker offers as he reaches out the cage towards the Skalenzahne. Dimitri looks reluctant, but then carefully extends his injured hand towards him. “Let me look. I promise, I’m not gonna hurt you.” The Blutbad says, the other Wesen finally giving him his hand and he sees what was bothering the guy.

“Oh, buddy, that is nasty. No wonder you’re a little touchy.” Monroe cringes, finding a piece of metal stuck in Dimitri’s hand, resulting in quite a bit of blood, most likely from him trying to get it out. “All right, now, let me just see if I can a hold of it.” He says next and carefully grabs the metal, looking kind of like a nail.

“Oh, one quick thing, this is probably gonna hurt!” He warns as he yanks the metal bit out of the Skalenzahne’s hand, making the boy boxer cry out as he pulls his injured hand close to his chest, trying to nurse it of the pain, while the Blutbad studies the nail. “I have no idea how that got in there, but it’s out now.” Monroe remarks before tossing the bloodied metal into a nearby bucket.

At that moment, the guards come back with buckets. Dimitri and some of the other prisoners began grunting excitedly as the men take out pieces of bloody-raw meat and drop them in the cages for their occupants to eat. After Dimitri gets hold of his, the same guard drops one into Monroe’s cage, who was more than a little disgusted/disturbed by the sight.

“Um, as appetizing as that might’ve looked to me at one time, I’m—I’m sort of doing a no-meat thing, so if we could—” He attempts to refuse, picking the meat up to give it back. Dimitri though was chomping down on the meat, woging into his Skalenzahne form as he did. It was then something occurred to Monroe.

“Wait a minute. What kind of meat…” The Blutbad starts then notices something on the piece Dimitri was eating, it was a tattoo of a rhino-head. More specifically, Bryan’s tattoo. “Has a tattoo?” He says then looks at the chunk of meat he himself was holding in horror, dropping it in revulsion.

As Monroe sat in the cage, not sure what to do, he could only hope Nick would come to get him out of this hell before he himself ended up as butchered meat.

“Wow,” A voice says and he flinches, looking up to see Leo Taymor again, staring down at him. “We’ve wanted a Blutbad for our games for quite a while, and thanks to Sauly, we’ve got one.” He says, smug.

“Well don’t thank that little ferret so fast.” Monroe bites back. “I’m not gonna fight.” He then states. If there was one thing he could in this situation, it was not give his captors what they want.

“Oh, you can fight…” Leo says as he walks over to the front of the cage, stopping next to his guard. “Or you can die, it’s entirely up to you. But you’re getting in the ring.” He states and the Blutbad sighs. “Get him ready.” The corrupt officer tells the guard. “And, uh, just in case you’re thinking about fighting before you get in the ring…” He says next then nods to his minion, who takes a cattle prod and taps the cage, sending an electric shock through the metal cage, shocking the Blutbad.

Monroe screams in agony from the shock, making him involuntary woge as he growls at his captor with furious glowing red eyes, before lunging at them. The guard merely shocks him with the prod again, Leo smirking at the display, and Monroe ends dropping down onto the cage’s floor, reverting back to human.

“That’s the spirit.” Taymor says, pleased, then laughs, while Monroe silently begs for help to be on the way.

Following the man’s instructions—whom he currently had cuffed in his car—Nick heads to the location where Monroe was taken. It was an old barn located in a secluded area. He was approaching the horse trailer, on foot, when he receives a call from Hank, who had gone to see Leo Taymor.

“Yeah, where are you?” Nick asks as he flashes his light inside the empty trailer.

“In a tack room at Taymor’s house.” His partner replies as Nick finishes his sweep of the trailer. “Found some horses and a whole lot of weapons for some nasty hand to hand.” The other detective says next.

“What about Taymor?” Nick inquiries about the parole officer.

“Not here. Where are you?” The other man answers then asks in return.

“I’m about three miles up Jordan Creek Road at a barn at the end of the road.” The Grimm tells him. “Monroe got a lead on a fight tonight.” He explains.

“How?” Hank questions.

“Uh, some bookie he knows.” Nick ends up telling him.

“My guess is, Taymor’s there. I’m coming to you.” Hank then speculates and says.

“Bring back-up.” Nick advises before ending the call and begins making his way towards the barn and hopefully, Monroe.

Speaking of the Blutbad, he was let out of the cage and led to a different part of the barn, this one with a larger cage/arena with spotlights shining down on it and a bunch of spectators who were gearing up for a show. Leo then walks ahead to the arena, taking center stage as he began speaking.

“Haec Löwen turpis elit! Grata ludos Leo.” He says, most likely in Latin, as Monroe is led to the door of the caged arena, roughly being shoved inside, the door soon closed and locked behind him. “Hoc vespere… ‘Sanguinis Lavacro facies maximis… Propugnator Dimitri!” He continues, the crowd roaring in excitement.

“Wish to hell I knew what that meant.” Monroe says while frantically looking around, noticing the strange Latin writing on the arena ground. Just then, Dimitri was let into the cage, Monroe putting together this was his opponent.

“Arma sumo vestr!” Leo chants next and the crowd cheers loudly.

“Dude, hang on, man. I’m the guy who pulled the thing out of your hand, remember? We got no beef.” Monroe tries to reason as the Skalenzahne picks up a shield and morning star, before turning to face the Blutbad with a murderous expression. “Oh, crap.” He curses, quickly grabbing his own shield as the other Wesen woges then comes at him.

Meanwhile, Nick had arrived at the barn and found himself in the area where the fighters were kept in cages, hearing whimpering coming from one of them. The detective was more than horrified, the sight also bringing mental images of slaves in chains, locked within stone cells and being tortured in various awful ways. The Grimm shakes it off and begins searching for Monroe, unfortunately not finding any sign of the Blutbad.

He then picks up the sounds of fighting and makes his way towards the source, soon finding himself where the main arena was set up. He froze as the scene of people cheering as two fight each other, once again reminded of the vision he had at the warehouse. He snaps out of it and realizes in horror that one of the fighters was Monroe. Hiding his gun, he carefully makes his way to the arena, recognizing the man next to it as Leo Taymor, just as Monroe was knocked down.

The crowd began jeering, many saying to kill the Blutbad, as his opponent, whom Nick recognizes as Dimitri Skontos woged, pins him down with a foot on his chest. Leo then sticks his hand into the cage, holding his thumb out sideways. Having an idea what was about to happen, Nick quickly sneaks up behind the man, bringing out his gun and holds it against his neck.

“Fight’s over. Let him go.” The Grimm demands as the other man turns to face him, woging into his Wesen form. “Leo, that’s an appropriate name for a Löwen. Monroe!” He remarks, not intimidated, then calls to the downed Blutbad, who was still pinned to the ground by Dimitri.

“You’re a Grimm. Unbelievable.” Leo remarks, returning to his human form.

“Monroe, get out there.” Nick then says.

“He stays. This is a fight to the death.” Taymor states.

“Yeah?” The Grimm asks as he backs away slightly. “If it is, it’s gonna be your death.” He threatens, keeping his gun aimed at the Löwen’s face.

“Go ahead, shoot. Today is a good day to die with honor…” Leo says back, not afraid, the surrounding crowd even cheering agreement. “Amongst my brothers, who won’t hesitate to take revenge.” He then states, Nick seeing his point. “The privilege of leaving the Löwen games alive belongs only to the champion. Those are the rules.” The corrupt officer says next, his guards/minions slowly inching closer, no doubt to take Nick.

“One more step and he dies.” The detective threatens, the Löwen holding up his hand, silently telling them to back down.

“We’re both gonna die. But the Blutbad dies first.” Taymor says as he goes to tell Dimitri to kill Monroe, the crowd cheering in excitement again. Pointing his thumb downwards, the Skalenzahne prepares to strike with the morning star.

“Stop it. I’ll fight in the Blutbad’s place, for both of us.” Nick suggests.

“Wait!” Leo exclaims, making Dimitri stop, then turns to the detective.

“You said the privilege of leaving alive belongs to the champion.” The Grimm recounts and Taymor grunts as he fully turns to face him, then smirks.

“We don’t allow guns.” He tells the detective.

“And why should I trust you?” Nick questions.

“You shouldn’t. But you don’t really have a choice, do you?” The Löwen replies then states, Nick glancing inside to Monroe still on the ground. “Give me the gun, get in the ring, or the Blutbad dies.” Taymor demands and reluctantly the Grimm drops his gun’s magazine into the man’s hand, then raises his arms in surrender, Leo chuckling in satisfaction. “We have a new challenger.” He announces.

“Hey, get off me.” Nick grunts as the guards take hold of him, taking away his gun and push him towards the entrance of the cage/arena.

“And this one is going to be a very special contestant.” Taymor says next, the audience cheering as the guards practically throw Nick into the cage, Dimitri backing away from Monroe while snarling at the detective, who wasn’t sure how he was going to make it out of this one, then looks to the Blutbad.

“Oh, dude.” Monroe says, clearly just as worried.

As this was going on, Sean Renard made his way to a local church, heading straight for the confessional booth, he takes the seat inside and the window is opened, revealing a priest in the other booth.

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” Renard begins, holding his hands in a prayer position.

“But that’s not why you’re here.” The priest states.

“No,” Sean confirms. “I have an issue with a fellow parishioner. He has… lost respect.” He then tells the mysterious priest.

“So we have one who has strayed.” The Father puts together.

“I’m afraid so.” The police captain says in response.

“You’ve made an attempt to return him to the fold?” The priest inquires.

“I have, but he no longer fears the sword… Here or hereafter.” Renard tells him.

“Sometimes the lost lamb is the most important to God. Is he beyond redemption?” The priest-man comments then asks.

“Unfortunately.” Sean confirms.

“So you don’t need my forgiveness.” The Father says.

“No. I need your wrath.” The police captain confirms then says.

“When?” The priest asks.

“Now.” Renard answers.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” The priest says next, not really a question. The police captain sighs as he wrings his hands together.

“Das Hexenmeisterschwert,” Is all Sean says, but the other man’s eyes widen.

“So, the legend itself has reemerged…” He says. “Has it chosen a wielder yet?” He then asks and Renard nods.

“Yes. The rumored Grimm. I believe he may also be of the bloodline.” He confirms and informs the holy man.

“A Grimm, born into the bloodline of the true wielders… I take it we can expect great things from him?” The priest comments then asks.

“Yes, but he’s just received it, and doesn’t know the full extent of its powers, yet.” Renard tells him in return.

“May the light of God show him the way, as it had shown another before him…” The Father gives a quick prayer while crossing himself. “Give me a few minutes to get changed. I will deal with the lost lamb as you requested.” He then says. “‘As it was before…’”

“‘So shall it be again’.” Renard finishes the sentence for him.

“Hace Löwen turpis elit! Grata ludos Leo.” Leo Taymor chants, the audience roaring in excitement as Nick finds himself facing Dimitri, who’s dropped his woge, taking off his jacket as he prepares to fight the man.

“You’re crazy, Nick.” Monroe says as he gets up from the ground, also picking up his shield as he joins his Grimm friend’s side.

“Well, maybe that’ll help.” Nick says in response. “All right, what are his weaknesses?” He then asks the Blutbad.

“He doesn’t have any.” Monroe replies.

“Hank is coming here with back-up. I just need to buy a little bit of time.” The Grimm tells the Wesen.

“This isn’t gonna take that long.” The Blutbad states.

“Arma sumo vestri!” Leo then says, signaling for the fight to start.

“Oh, man.” Monroe groans, Nick won’t lie, he was just as nervous. “All right, here we go.” The clock-repairman says as he picks up a mace weapon, handing it to the detective. “Listen to me. All right—No, no! That’s your shield.” He starts, but cuts off when Nick tries to take the shield then points to another, which the detective quickly picks up.

“You are gonna have to dig deep within yourself, and, like, pull up the history of your ancestors, and I mean all of them, man. Bring it, and just do whatever you have to do. Because whatever they have done to that guy over there, has removed any shred of humanity. You are dealing with pure killer.” Monroe tells Nick, who couldn’t help but stare at Dimitri, wondering just what he had gone through to end up like this. Steadying his breath, he takes a step forward.

“Oh, wait, wait. One more thing.” Monroe says, grabbing the other man’s shoulder and turning him back to face him. “His right hand is weak, okay? You can do this. I hope.” He informs then encourages, though adds nervously as he backs away while Nick and Dimitri circle each other.

The Skalenzahne makes the first strike, swinging the morning star at Nick, who quickly raises his shield to block it. Once he saw an opening, the Grimm swung his mace back at the boxer, who blocks with his own shield, then woges again into his Wesen form. The two begin trading blows back and forth, when Dimitri kicks Nick is the gut sending him to the ground, causing him to lose the mace. The crocodile-Wesen then swings, knocking the shield from his grip, leaving him defenseless.

Nick quickly looks around, finding a wooden mallet nearby, which he grabs then smacks on the floor, starling Dimitri and allowing the Grimm to rise back up to his feet and goes on the attack himself, pushing the Skalenzahne back while hitting the mallet against the other man’s shield. Eventually, he manages to get a hit to the Wesen man’s face, knocking him down.

“That’s it!” Monroe exclaims in encouragement.

Unfortunately for Nick, Dimitri got a second wind and pushes him back against the cage wall. Nick smacks him across the face, both with his hand and the mallet, but the crocodile-Wesen didn’t seem fazed and merely headbutts the other man, stunning him, and allowing the boxer to throw the Grimm across the arena, taking away the mallet in the process which he then tosses to the side.

“Nick!” Monroe cries in worry as he sees the Grimm go down, struggling to get up, just barely managing to move into a kneeling positon on his knees.

Nick grunts as he stares up at the Skalenzahne approaching him, swinging around the morning star. All around he heard the crowd jeering and the lights so bright it felt like it was blinding him, barely able to make out a terrified Monroe and/or a smug Leo Taymor. Like before, he was reminded of his strange vision of the arena in which he fought three Löwen… Was that him? He doesn’t know anymore…

Just then, the noises around seem to quiet as things felt like they were slowing down. Nick looks up through his blurred vision, finding a male figure standing before him, dressed in Roman-gladiator styled armor; a leather skirt-like bottom with a matching chest harness and armor going down his right arm. He couldn’t quite make out the man’s face, though he felt his eyes on him, almost like they were seeing through him…

“Get up… Fight!” A voice echoes in his ears and Nick feels a fire ignite inside him. At that moment, the Knight-Saber takes on its gauntlet form once more, just as Dimitri swings the morning star at him… Only for the spiked ball to be caught by an armored hand. The crowd, Leo and Monroe, even Dimitri, freeze and stare in shock at the sight…

Nick, an expression of pure fury on his face as he stands up, clutching the weapon in his now armored right hand, which he squeezes, shattering the spiked ball then rips it from the crocodile-Wesen’s hand, tossing it away before grabbing and shoving Dimitri across the arena. The crowd’s cheers finally silent, all from shock of the display. The Grimm breathes heavily as he clenches his fist, a blade then extending from the gauntlet as he stares at Dimitri, who shakenly stands back up.

“No way, is that…?” Monroe thought as he gets a good look at the saber.

“Impossible…” Leo mutters under his breath as he watches with wide eyes.

The lights of the arena begin to flicker wildly as Nick approaches the Skalenzahne, his appearance switching from his modern clothing to what looked to be Roman-armor as he did—in fact the very same armor as the figure previously before him wore—Dimitri reaching out and grabbing a sword from nearby. The Grimm then swings his gauntlet blade, the crocodile-Wesen blocking with his own blade.

The Grimm and Wesen engage in a sword fight with each other, matching blow for blow—Nick’s form still changing between his own attire and gladiator armor—eventually the detective manages to twist the blade out of Dimitri’s grip, then kicks at his leg, causing the Wesen-man to fall to his knees. Nick then grabs him by the shoulder and holds the saber to his throat, his form once more changing to a gladiator before shifting back to normal.

“Woah, Nick…” Monroe says, somewhere between awe and fear, while the Grimm stares at Dimitri, who reverts back to his human form and looks up at the detective with scared-vulnerable eyes… Making the man pause.

“Dimitri, I’m not your enemy. I don’t want to kill you.” Nick says, not noticing the door of the cage opening and one of Leo’s minions entering and coming at him with a club, preparing to strike him. Luckily, Monroe used his shield to knock the man down before he could, Nick hitting Dimitri across the face so he could focus on the new threat coming.

“What happened to a fair fight?” Monroe asks as he bashes the minion with his shield again. The crowd began jeering as many seemed to be preparing to charge in, forcing the Grimm and Blutbad back-to-back against each other. “Hey, man. I just wanted to say thanks for saving my life back there.” The wolf-Wesen says.

“Yeah, however long that lasts.” Nick says back.

“Here it comes.” Monroe warns with his shield raised to defend.

“Bring it on!” The Grimm challenges with the Knight-Saber raised, the jewel on it shimmering, ready to fight back.

“Don’t say that.” The Blutbad says fearfully, the door opening as others start entering. However at that moment, sirens were heard followed by the lights of police cars shining into the arena.

“Police! Move out of the way.” Hank’s voice calls as he and other officers enter the building.

“That’s my cue.” Monroe says as he goes to sneak away before the police saw him

“Yeah.” Nick agrees as he goes to help him, the cops thankfully too busy rounding up the spectators and Leo’s men to notice. “Get out!” The Grimm urges practically pushing the Blutbad out the cage.

“Okay! Oh, and as soon as you can… You need to come over to my house! We need to talk.” Monroe says, that last part with a serious tone, before rushing off, just as Hank comes into the cage/arena, the saber returning to its bracelet form before he noticed.

“You okay?” His partner asks.

“Yeah.” Nick replies, his focus on the saber, wondering why it activated now. Was it because he was in a fight and it reacted to the threat?

“Who’s that?” Hank asks, regaining Nick’s attention as he gestures to Dimitri, who laid on the ground.

“It’s Dimitri Skontos.” Nick replies.

“Is he alive?” The other detective asks.

“Yeah, he’s breathing.” The Grimm assures.

“Where’s Taymor?” Hank asks next.

“I don’t know. Think he got away.” Nick tells him, having not noticed the Löwen leave. Must have made a run for it as soon as the cops showed up. Speaking of, they were taking everyone still at the scene in, thankfully without much problem.

As soon as he could, Nick got into his car and was making his way home, along the way remembering about the anniversary dinner he was supposed to have with Juliette… He sighs, then takes out his phone and dials his girlfriend’s number.

“Hello?” Juliette answers.

“Hey, Honey, I’m on my way home. I hope it’s not too late.” He says, apologetic.

“No, no, it’s okay.” The veterinarian replies, though Nick could tell she was no doubt disappointed.

“Okay. I’ll be home in a few. Love you.” He tells her.

“Okay.” The woman replies then ends the call and Nick sighs again.

“Is it too much to ask for life to go back to the way it was…?” He questions. Who? He couldn’t tell you. Probably the universe itself at this point… Months ago, he was a normal cop who had just bought a ring and was ready to propose to Juliette, only for his life to flip on its head and he found himself facing “monsters” left and right.

“As if being a Grimm isn’t enough, I now got this…” He says, casting a glance to the Knight-Saber, recalling what happened back in the arena, which was just like when he faced Soledad. Truthfully, it was like he was there, but not at the same time. As if someone else was guiding him, even dictating all his movements. That was after swearing he saw someone else in the ring before vanishing.

“What is happening to me lately? Those dreams, and these visions… Am I finally losing my mind?” He thought as he pulls up in front of his house, but ends up staying in his car for a moment, contemplating, everything… “Kolt—what a strange thought—but I wish you were here. I need answers, and you seem to be the only one who can give them…” He says to himself and nearly breaks down.

If he was being honest right now, Nick was exhausted. Grimm, Wesen, the Knight-Saber…it felt like things just kept pilling on one another and he was being crushed by the weight of it all. And he couldn’t even talk to anyone about this, not Juliette, Hank, or Monroe… Wait, Monroe… Before leaving the Blutbad told him they needed to talk and that it was urgent. What could that be about…?

Meanwhile, with Leo Taymor, the Löwen had made his way back to his house, heading into the barn next to it and opens the safe inside, intending to take the money stored inside and no doubt skip town. However, he hears something approaching and looks up to see none other than Sean Renard himself walking into the barn.

“You did this. And you’re going to pay.” He growls in anger.

“Well, one of us is.” Renard says in response, not fazed.

“As if sicing your Grimm detective on me wasn’t enough… You didn’t mention that he has the goddamn Hexenmeisterschwert!” Taymor snarls, woging.

“That was your mistake; underestimating him. And me.” The police captain says back. At that moment, the Löwen heard growling behind him and turns, only for something to come at him, pulling him to the ground. The corrupt officer’s screams were heard, accompanied by the sounds of snarls plus ripping and tearing.

“You know, I actually have to thank you a little, Leo. Nick was having trouble getting a handle on the saber, but your ‘games’ provided the push he needed to unlock its powers. Well, the first step in the right direction at least.” Renard remarks then turns and starts walking away, leaving Leo to be torn apart.

Chapter Text

Nick sighs as he parks in front of Monroe’s house. It’s been a couple of days since the whole Löwen Games—Leo Taymor had gone missing since then and no evidence of his whereabouts have been found, though that thankfully didn’t stop the department from shutting down his little operation—and Nick finally had the time to visit Monroe, like the Blutbad asked, though he wasn’t sure on what.

The Grimm-detective takes a deep breath before getting out of the car and walks up to the house, knocking on the front door. After a couple moments, it opened to reveal the clockmaker/repairman, who gestures for him to come in, which the detective does, the other man closing the door behind him.

“Look, if this is about getting you captured and put in the Löwen games… I get if you don’t want to be involved in any of this anymore—” Nick starts as he walks into the living room, figuring Monroe had had enough with being put in danger while assisting Nick on his cases.

“What? No, this isn’t about the games… I called you to talk, about that.” Monroe interrupts him and says while pointing to the bracelet on the detective’s wrist.

“This…?” Nick asks as he raises his right hand, revealing the saber on it.

“Dude, I saw what happened during the fight!” Monroe says and Nick flashes back to when the saber transformed into its gauntlet form during his fight with Dimitri, the blade extending from it and his body moving almost automatically, wielding it like he had been his whole life. “It’s definitely not a normal family heirloom, that’s for sure… Did you find it in the Grimm trailer?” The Blutbad says then inquires.

“Not, exactly… I wasn’t lying when I said it belonged to my grandfather… Wait, I already asked you about it and you said you didn’t know anything.” Nick says.

“You did? When? What do you mean?” Monroe asks, confused.

“The Knight-Saber… That’s what this is. It’s the thing that was at the center of the whole jewelry store, Steinadler and Schakal debacle a few weeks ago.” The Grimm/detective tells him.

“Oh… Oh! That’s what you meant? Damn… I totally misunderstood. Sorry…” The clockmaker puts together and apologies.

“Wait, so you do know what this is?” Nick asks in surprise with the other man walking over to the bookshelves nearby.

“Yeah man. I didn’t realize it at first is because we Wesen known it by a different name entirely…” Monroe says as he pulls out a book from his shelf and opens it to a specific page, which he shows to Nick. Said page had an illustration of a man dressed in a medieval surcoat, holding a sword in his left hand while his right one was raised, revealing a very familiar gauntlet with a blue gemstone on it. “Das Hexenmeisterschwert,” The Blutbad says while pointing out the gauntlet though the Grimm gives him a confused look.

“I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.” The police detective states.

“Basically it means; ‘The Warlock Sword’, in German that is.” The other man explains and Nick’s eyes widen, remembering a certain detail Kolt had told him about the saber.

“The Steinadler from that time, the one who told me about this, he said a lot of its past wielders, were Zauberbiests…” He recalls.

“Well, it has been wielded by other kinds of Wesen, but it definitely has a thing for Zauberbiests. I mean, given theirs and Hexenbiests’ abilities, I get why and as it only chooses men to wield it… Yeah, so, that’s kind of how it got its moniker…” Monroe admits as he flips through the pages, revealing a myriad of figures who were wearing the gauntlet, appearing to be part of different eras and cultures.

“Okay, so almost everyone in the Wesen community has heard tales of this thing, one way or another. Nobody knows where it came from or when it first appeared, but it’s been seen many times throughout history, and as a result has a bunch of different legends surrounding it. Including the tragic tale of a specific Zauberbiest called Zachariah…” Monroe says next, Nick looking up at the name, recognizing it.

“Story goes, that despite his, ‘nature’, he was a devout follower of the church, specifically the Vatican, became a solider for their cause. At one point, he got his hands on the gauntlet and used its powers to fight in the name of God, or I guess Christ… But when he was exposed as a Zauberbiest, the church pegged him as a servant for the devil and so was convicted and imprisoned, then like many accused of witchcraft in those times was burned at the stake…”

The Blutbad explains, stopping on a page that showed a drawing of a man tied to a stake that was being set ablaze. Nick feels his breath hitch as he recognizes the image, recalling the nightmare he had of Zachariah himself as he’s burned, crying out and also having woged, then Nick himself taking his place within the flames.

“You okay, man?” Monroe asks, noticing the Grimm’s pale expression.

“Y-yeah, just…” Nick stammers, not sure how to explain, then something occurs to him. “What else do you know about this…Da hexen…hexen-meist-shwart…?” He asks, stumbling over the name the other man told him.

“Das Hexenmeisterschwert, or just, Hexenmeisterschwert. Anyways, the legends say it bestows untold power unto whomever bears it. Such as increased strength, speed, agility… Oh, and some even believe that it gives its wearer something akin to clairvoyance, I think…” Monroe clarifies then says and the Grimm’s eyes widen, glancing down at the bracelet.

“Wait, clairvoyance…? As in psychic visions?” He asks.

“Maybe. I don’t know for sure… Why? Have you been seeing things?” The Blutbad replies then asks in turn, admittedly a little worried for the Grimm.

“Me and Hank were investigating a crime scene, specifically where a couple was killed by what looked to be an animal, which was actually Dimitri… During which, I had this strange flash and witnessed Dimitri himself being chased and captured by men riding on horses who dragged him away. I also saw his Wesen form.” Nick recounts, unconsciously touching the saber on his wrist.

“At the time I didn’t even know who Dimitri Skontos was, much less what he looked like, human or Wesen. When I first saw his picture, I was thrown… Even more when I found out what kind of Wesen he is…” The Grimm tells the Blutbad, who was silent throughout. “That’s not all… Lately, I’ve been having dreams that seem to be of other’s lives, including Zachariah… His death specifically…

“Kolt, the Steinadler I mentioned, he said those who wield the saber inherit the previous bearers’ memories and even pieces of their spirit, or something like that. I’m not entirely sure what it means, but… It was also during the investigation I saw moments of a gladiator’s life, one who was a wielder of the saber, apparently called the Hand of Glory at the time… Spartacus, to be exact.” He says next.

“Woah, woah, woah, man… Spartacus? As in the infamous slave and gladiator of Rome turned revolutionary…? The one whose men defended by claiming to be him—‘I am Spartacus’—so he wouldn’t be taken and most likely executed…? That Spartacus!? He was a wielder!? Holy crap…” Monroe sums up, clearly in shock.

“Yeah, you didn’t know?” Nick confirms then inquires.

“Dude, it’s not like I know every single wielder of this thing… It’s been around for centuries! Who knows how many before you have worn it.” The Blutbad states.

“One of them was my grandfather, like I said.” Nick then says and the other man’s eyes widen even more somehow. “My father’s father, Adrian Burkhardt, was a spy during World War 2, who took the saber from Adolf Hitler himself—using it to fight against him—who I also discovered was a Blutbad… Did you know that?” He explains then asks.

“First: Yes, unfortunately I am aware what Hitler was, way to drag our species’ reputation through the mud even more…” Monroe replies with a grumble, Nick silently agreeing. “Second: Wow, man! A spy who not only fought against Hitler but a wielder of the Hexenmeisterschwert? Damn! Talk about awesome! A real Grimm, huh?” He then remarks, impressed, hitting Nick’s shoulder playfully.

“Actually, no… The Grimm part comes from my Mom’s side. My Father’s family line is normal, sort of…” The detective corrects the bearded man.

“Even better! Man, so your granddad was also a bearer. What are the chances of that?” The Blutbad then remarks and the Grimm fidgets with the bracelet more.

“Apparently it has to do with our family…I think. Kolt mentioned that out of all the wielders of the saber, it seemed to favor a particular bloodline.” He explains.

“I’m taking it, your parental one?” Monroe guesses, the other man nodding his head in confirmation.

“Yeah, though there’s still a lot I’m trying to figure out, but Kolt left and I didn’t know who else I could talk to about all this…” Nick says next while rubbing his forehead, clearly trying to keep it together.

“Hey, you got me now. Just wish I knew about all this sooner. It must’ve been tough.” Monroe says, touching the other man’s shoulder in a sympatric gesture, which makes Nick smile at him, thankful.

“Honestly, I felt like I was nearly going crazy… Even more than when I first awakened as a Grimm.” The detective admits, when his phone rings. Monroe takes his hand off the Grimm’s shoulder as the man takes out his cellphone. “Burkhardt,” He answers the call.

“Hank? Wait, what happened? Where?” The Grimm says in response to what he was being told by his partner. “Okay, I’ll be there.” The detective says and ends the call. “I gotta go, there’s a case. Something about a break in and a couple of dead guys.” He tells Monroe.

“See you later. We’ll talk more.” The Blutbad says in response.

“Yeah, we will. Promise.” Nick agrees then leaves the house, Monroe glancing back down to the book about the legendary “Warlock Sword”, specifically the illustration of Saint Zachariah being executed…

After driving down to the crime scene, Nick steps out his vehicle, joining up with Hank who just arrived at the site himself, that being an old warehouse. The two detectives then approach the front gate, which was sealed off with police tape.

“Where are the bodies?” Nick asks.

“Downstairs in the basement.” Sergeant Wu answers as a nearby officer lifts up the tape for the two detectives to get past.

“What condition?” Hank then inquires.

“Toast.” Is all Wu says in response as he leads the duo towards the building.

“We get an I.D. yet?” Nick asks next, his partner taking out his notebook.

“It’s gonna require dental work, but we’ve got the pickup, registered to Joseph Oliver, small-time operator. I’ve arrested him a couple times for stealing scrap.” The sergeant tells them. “But, I couldn’t tell you that was him in the basement.” He adds.

“Ooh,” Hank hums, him and Nick knowing that had to mean the bodies were in seriously bad condition.

“Uh, we got the owner of the building, Lance Truman, waiting to talk to you. Found the break-in this morning, called it in. Guy with him is his contractor.” Wu then says as the three cops arrive at the warehouse entrance, finding two men outside the door appearing to be talking.

“Arson downstairs?” Hank asks as they approach the men.

“Yeah. Vance, he’s downstairs doing the prelim. You wanna talk to Truman?” The sergeant answers then asks.

“Oh, let’s see what the bodies have to say first.” Nick suggests, kind of wondering if the saber will give him a vision like the one he had about Dimitri.

“Okay… It’s pretty rank down there.” Wu warns, taking out a tub of oil/cream, a means to combat the smell, so the two detectives dip their fingers in the stuff and pad it under their noses for that purpose. The sergeant then leads the detective partners into the building and down into the basement area. “Looks like they were here to steal the copper. We found a pile of it in a cart over there.” He says, pointing out said cart nearby.

“Were they using torches?” Hank inquires.

“If they were, we didn’t find any.” Wu answers.

“Well, then, how’d they set themselves on fire?” Nick questions.

“Guess that’s why we have an arson investigator.” The officer says as they come upon the murder scene; featuring two corpses against the wall, both burned to a crisp, plus scorch marks on the wall itself in the shape of two human silhouettes.

“What do we got?” Hank asks the arson investigator, Vance, who was currently inspecting the two bodies, as he and Nick walk closer.

“Where’s my ‘Good morning’?” Said arson investigator asks, clearly joking.

“Good morning, Jordan.” Nick says, making the other man chuckle in amusement. “What do we got?” He then repeats the question his partner asked.

“Not a heck of a lot. Two dead…men, I think. Don’t know the source of the fire, but it happened pretty quick, so whatever they were working with, it was extremely volatile.” Jordan tells them, Hank kneeling down to take a look himself. “Don’t know the source of ignition yet either.” The arson investigator adds.

“Usually you don’t burn a body unless you’re trying to cover up a homicide.” Hank then states.

“Well, that’s if they were dead. Burn patterns suggest ignition occurred here, and they were thrown up against the wall as a result of the blast.” Vance says then explains while making gestures to indicate what occurred and where it happened.

“Wait, so someone doused them first?” Nick inquires.

“Explosion like this, had to be.” Jordan says in reply.

“Gasoline?” Hank guesses.

“No, we would smell that.” The arson inspector states. “I’ll know more after I run some tests. But here’s the odd thing… A body has to burn for a few hours to reach this state of immolation. So whatever it was got really hot, really fast. Like, getting hit with napalm.” He tells the detectives, who were admittedly left a bit confused.

“That’s kind of brutal.” Nick remarks.

“Nothing else you can find?” Hank asks.

“Not at the moment.” Jordan replies while still looking over the bodies.

Nick turns in the direction that the fire blast originated from and walks towards it, looking around for any clues they might have missed, but so far, nothing. He sighs, having a feeling there was more to this case that what they were seeing, or more specifically what his fellow officers couldn’t see… It seems ever since becoming a Grimm, every one of his cases had to do with Wesen in some way or another. He then turn back to the other cops, only to find them not there.

“Huh? Hank? Jordan? Wu? Guys!?” Nick calls but receives no answer. He then notices the basement seemed darker than before, also the two charred bodies we’re nowhere to be found…

“Whoever’s down here, you better get the hell out.” A voice says and he turns to see two men—one tall and skinny, the other short and with a beard—standing a few feet ahead of him, both holding flashlights. “We’re security, and we’ll arrest your ass if we find it.” The skinny guy warns, though Nick could tell it was a bold-faced lie. The two strangers then illuminate a cart that was full of copper scraps.

“You take off now and… We’ll forget you were ever here.” The bearded man then says, though whoever it was they were talking to didn’t make an appearance.

“I’m not gonna tell you again.” The skinny man says next as he picks up a nearby copper pipe as a weapon. “Get the hell out of here.” He threatens, then coughing was heard, followed by a growling noise and then something that seemed to be sprayed into the air.

“The hell…” The bearded man gags from the strange substance covering him and the other guy.

“I-I can’t breathe.” The skinny one says and suddenly, an inferno comes at the men, who scream as they’re consumed by the blaze.

Nick stares in horror before throwing his hands up in front of his face as the flames then spread towards him and he himself cries out as he feels the heat surround and engulf him… Before suddenly finding himself tied to a stake, a large crowd jeering, plus a man dressed as a priest who was talking but his voice was inaudible, while the wooden stake was set ablaze and him along with it. He screamed…

“Nick!” Hank’s voice jolts him back to reality and he finds his partner staring at him, along with Wu and Vance.

“You okay, Nick? You suddenly froze in place and then started screaming.” Wu asks then states with a quirked eyebrow. Nick looking around, finding himself in the basement of the warehouse, which had returned to normal. His gaze then turns to the bodies and he realizes what exactly he had just witnessed.

“Nick…?” Hank says, noticing his partner’s pale and slightly sweaty expression.

“I… I… I need some fresh air… The smell is too much!” Nick exclaims, nearly gagging as he runs out of the basement and up the stairs, leaving the other officers confused.

“What’s with him?” Wu asks Hank.

“I don’t know. He’s been out of sorts since the whole Kolt and Marquesa debacle. I have no clue as to why…” The detective replies, looking in the direction that his partner left. “Well, anyways, since my partner’s already outside, might as well follow and talk to the owner.” He says and follows behind said partner.

“This is the third building I own that’s been hit.” Lance Truman, owner of the warehouse, begins as the two detectives question him. “Anything copper, they take it. I put fences around my buildings, I padlock them. Doesn’t make any difference. They just cut into any type of lock I put on it.” He says in clear frustration.

“Well, they didn’t use a welder’s torch. There’s no clean-cut mark. It’s like… The whole area around the latch is melted.” Nick observes, admittedly still a little rattled from his vision, the singed lock not really helping, though he manages to power through it.

“I don’t know what they use, but that’s the same as all my other buildings.” Truman says, while Hank’s notices something on the ground, which he approaches, squatting down and touches a bit of the substance.

“This feels like oil.” The detective says, the other two men’s attention. “Anybody have a match?” He then asks.

“A lighter.” Truman replies as he walks closer, handing said lighter to the cop, who flips it open and lights the substance, which bursts into a flame but quickly goes out, evaporating into smoke.

“Ooh. Damn.” Hank breathes in surprise. Nick just as stunned. Just what the heck were they dealing with this time?

After the cops finished surveying the scene, they all went back to the precinct, Jordan proceeding to run tests on the bodies before coming up to show the results of said tests.

“Am I reading this right? Lipids?” Renard asks while reading the file and walking towards his office, with Jordan, Nick and Hank in tow.

“Yeah, basically human fat.” The arson inspector confirms.

“Human fat. Are you sure?” Sean questions as they enter the captain’s office.

“No mistake about that. Mixed with a lot methane. If sprayed and ignited, it’ll flash and burn and become insanely hot.” Vance then explains.

“Where does someone get that much human fat?” The police captain asks next.

“Well, if it were beef, I would say a butcher shop. But human fat, uh… A morgue maybe, I don’t know.” The arson inspector replies and theorizes, just as confused.

“We’re running samples for DNA.” Nick then announces.

“We think it’s a homicide.” Hank says next.

“Why?” Renard asks, as this appeared to be a robbery gone wrong.

“No evidence of ignition at the scene. So whoever set them on fire had to have taken it with them.” Nick states. “Not to mention what I saw…” He added in thought casting a glance to the Knight-Saber, no doubt being responsible for his vision at the crime scene, and honestly still a little rattled from that experience.

“The same substance was used to burn through the lock on the gate and the lock on the loading dock door.” Hank then informs the captain.

“And we found other instances of similar break-ins, all at abandoned or shut down properties.” His partner follows up.

“Someone stealing copper is nothing new. You check with the scrap yards?” Renard states then asks.

“Yeah, according to them, they’re not seeing any copper.” Hank replies then relays to his captain.

“So whoever’s stealing it isn’t selling it. Makes a lot of sense.” Sean puts together then points out, when there was a knock at the door and the four turn to see Wu standing in the open doorway.

“Sorry to interrupt. Witness just came in. Says he saw somebody running away from that building last night.” He informs and the two detectives walk out and over to their desks where the witness already was to give his statement.

“I was driving by that building last night. I didn’t think anything of it until I heard about the two guys dying on the news.” The man tells them.

“You saw sometime outside the building?” Hank asks, currently sitting in his desk chair, while Nick stood nearby.

“Yeah, he ran right in front of me. I almost hit him. I don’t know if he had anything to do with it, but he was there, and he looked scared.” The witness says next.

“Can you describe him?” Nick asks the man.

“I’ll never forget. Half his face was scarred up. His hair, was all scraggly, like he hadn’t shaved in a while, and he was wearing a long coat. My guess is he was homeless.” The witness describes.

“What happened after you stopped?” Hank then inquires.

“I yelled at him for being an idiot. He kept on running.” The other man answers.

“You didn’t see him get into a vehicle?” Nick questions.

“No.” The witness replies simply.

“We’d like you to talk to the police sketch artist, see if you can work up a sketch of what he looked like.” Hank then says.

“Okay.” The man agrees and is led over to said sketch artist, then proceeds to describe the man he saw running away that night.

As they do, Nick looks around, admittedly a little bored, but his eye then catches on something at the entrance of the bullpen; it appeared to be a medieval knight, dressed in a surcoat with a particular symbol stitched on it and a helmet that hid their face. Nick found himself unable to take his eyes off the armored figure, who raises their right hand, revealing a Pata sword on it, and points the blade at him…

“Nick?” Hank speaks, pulling his partner’s attention to him. “You still here, man?” The detective asks, looking concerned.

“I, uh… I thought I saw something…” Nick stammers a reply, turning back to the bullpen entrance, only to find the mysterious figure gone. “Must’ve just been my imagination…” He says, though had a suspicion on what it really was.

“That’s pretty close.” Their witness then says and the two turn their attention to the drawing of the strange man that was seen running from the crime scene. Nick in particular gets a strange feeling from the image.

“Hey, 9-1-1 call just came in.” Wu says as he walks over, getting the detectives’ attention next. “Lance Truman got attacked outside the building where we found the burn vics. Got a patrol car en route.” He informs then turns to leave and the duo immediately go with him to investigate.

Returning to the scene, the three cops found Mr. Truman nursing a head wound, the patrol cop with him calling for an ambulance as the other men approach.

“He hit me. I think he’s still inside the building.” Truman tells them.

“Stay with him.” Nick says to the patrol officer as he, plus Hank and Wu head for the warehouse to take a look.

“He returned to the scene of the crime?” Hank can’t help but question. Nick admittedly started getting a bad feeling and turns to face the other officers, two of which coming with him, his partner and Wu into the warehouse.

“If you see him, do not go near him. Keep a visual and radio it.” The detective instructs before turning back around and continuing towards the building, the feeling of danger rising in his gut.

Entering the warehouse, the cops spilt into two groups, (Nick and Hank, while Wu went with the two officers), as they make their way down to the basement. Guns drawn and flashlights on, the two detectives move through the dark room pausing when they hear a rustling in the distance.

They listen for a bit, but don’t pick up on anything else and so they continue their search, soon finding themselves where the two bodies were found, making Nick nervous, recalling that horrible vision he had. Turning around, the duo sweep their lights over the area, noticing something out of place, or rather, missing.

“The shopping cart’s gone.” Nick notes to Hank.

“How’d they get it upstairs?” The other detective questions.

“The elevator’s not working. The only way is the stairs.” His partner then recalls.

“We got movement up here.” Wu’s voice says over the radio. Immediately feeling something was wrong, the two detectives rush to the upper level where Wu and the other two officers were searching. “I heard something. In the shipping and receiving area. Toward the back.” The sergeant says next, before he suddenly starts coughing over the frequency. “I got sprayed… Can’t breathe.” He gags and Nick’s heart nearly stops as he recalls his vision.

“Move back. Run. Do not fire your gun.” The Grimm urgently warns his fellow cop then rushes to his location along with his partner. The two arrive, finding Wu looking disoriented and another figure who was coughing up a lung. While Hank went over to check on Wu, Nick focused on the man, pointing his gun at him.

“Stay where you are.” He instructs, in response the man gags as he vomits a strange substance into the air. “Oh, jeez!” The detective exclaims as he backs away before the stuff could get on him—Hank taking Wu and getting the hell out of there—quickly recognizing it as the same vapor that had sprayed over the victims before being burned alive.

As if that wasn’t enough, the strange man—who Nick notices had a burn scar on half his face—growls as his face changes from human to a reptile-like creature, before breathing what could only be fire right at him. Nick gasps as he ducks out of the way of the flames, hiding behind some nearby crates. Breathing heavily, Nick tries to calm his racing heart as the horrifying vision and Zachariah’s death flashes before his eyes. He manages to shake it off and leave his hiding spot, finding Hank and Wu, though no sign of the scarred man anywhere in sight.

“You okay?” He asks his partner.

“Yeah, you?” Hank answers then asks in turn.

“Y-Yeah.” Nick replies, admittedly a little nervous by the fires around them.

“Uh, I’m not. This stuff is in my eyes, my nose, my ears—” Wu groans.

“I saw him. It’s definitely the guy with the scar.” Nick then says.

“See where he went?” Hank asks.

“No.” The other detective replies.

“Let’s get him out of here.” His partner then says, meaning Wu, just as Nick’s phone started ringing.

“I like that idea a lot.” Wu agrees, still disoriented.

“Burkhardt,” Nick answers the call. “Yeah? It’s Vance. He got DNA results on the lipids. We got an I.D.” He tells his fellow officers as they leave the building.

Upon returning to the precinct, having taken Wu to get looked over from being nearly blinded by the lipids sprayed in his face, the two detectives meet up with Vance who shares what he found from the DNA search.

“Fred Eberhart. 48 years old. Been in and out of the V.A Hospital for several years now.” The arson inspector relays, the man’s profile displayed on one of the precinct computer screens, showing two photos; one of a man dressed like a solider and the other of the same man but older and had a very familiar burn scar.

“Desert Storm vet and decorated war hero.” Renard observes. “You talk to V.A. about him?” He then asks Jordan.

“I did. They said they haven’t seen him in the last six months. Evidently, Eberhart drops off the grid quite a bit.” Vance replies.

“Any known address?” Nick asks next.

“No.” The arson inspector answers.

“What about a last job?” Hank inquires.

“Worked as a welder for the railroad, but they, uh, laid him off two years ago.” Jordan relays.

“Where’s he from?” Renard then inquires.

“Local boy. Portland, born and raised.” The arson investigator replies.

“Any relatives here?” Nick asks.

“There’s a daughter. Uh… Ariel Eberhart. V.A. had a phone number as next of kin.” Vance answers and hands the detective the file.

“Well, let’s see if she’s home.” He says and goes to call the girl.

“Did you get a look at what Eberhart was using? Was it a tank of some kind?” Renard then asks Hank.

“It was too dark to tell. But I heard some kind of noise, like a real bad smoker’s cough. Next thing I know, a ball of flame was coming at us.” The detective recounts, the police captain looking more than a little confused.

“Well, it’s not a home phone or a cell phone.” Nick says as he puts his desk phone back in its station. “Got an answering machine for Club Trop Chaud. Maybe she works there.” He tells the other two men. “It’s on my way home. I’ll check it out.” He says then gets up to leave.

As Nick said, upon leaving the precinct and making his way home, he stopped at Club Trop Chaud. Loud music blaring as he walks in, a wall of sparkling streamers over the entrance.

“Hi,” He greets the woman at the entrance.

“Hi. Show’s already started, but if you’re alone, I can squeeze you in.” She greets back then offers.

“Oh, I’m, uh… Looking for Ariel Eberhart. You know her?” Nick says, showing his police badge. The lady laughs then turns and pulls back the streamers over the entrance to reveal the inside of the club.

“There she is.” She points out the girl currently on stage as Nick enters the main area of the club.

The detective’s gaze focused on the scantily-clad dancer who was swinging around flaming torchers as part of her performance, much to the enjoyment of the crowd, many of which Nick witnesses woge, making him turn away as to not draw attention to himself, then he hears a wolf whistle and turns back to see a familiar face in the crowd, it was none other than Monroe.

Nick smiles upon noticing the Blutbad, finding this kind of amusing, especially as he looks around and sees a couple more girls dressed in “revealing” outfits, who were dancing proactively around the club. His focus going back to Ariel as she holds up one of the torches and blows on it, causing the flame to spread out over the crowd, who cheer in delight.

The dancer’s gaze then trains on Nick, the Grimm witnessing her woge into a reptile-like form, making him pause as it was the same as her father’s. Returning to her human appearance, Ariel smiles at him then continues her performance. Not sure what that was all about, Nick then makes his way over to a certain Wesen clockmaker, taking the unoccupied seat at the man’s table.

“Hey, Nick.” Monroe greets upon noticing the detective’s presence. “What are you doing here, man? Not exactly the last place in the world I’d expect to see you, but, uh… Pretty darn close.” He then asks, though seemed more focused on a certain dancer.

“So you come here a lot?” Nick asks in return.

“What, me? No.” Monroe quickly denies and goes to take a sip of his drink. “Yeah, sometimes.” He contradicts, Nick giving him a look before he finally relents. “Okay, a lot. Come on, she is smoking hot.” He admits then says as Ariel sticks one of the torches in her mouth, the flame going out as a result.

“I got a case involving her father. He’s some kind of a—” Nick starts to explain while pointing out Ariel, but Monroe gestures for him to stop.

“Dämonfeuer.” The Blutbad says, then glances around. “You sure we should be conversing like this here?” He questions as Nick glances around.

“No.” He agrees, seeing the other man’s point.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Monroe says then continues to watch as Ariel now held two fire fans and began shaking them around.

“So Dämonfeuer?” Nick inquires.

“You just said we weren’t gonna do that in here.” Monroe retorts, but the detective gives him a serious look. “Okay.” He relents, knowing there was no way out of this.

After a bit, the two men exit the club and walked a little ways down the sidewalk, though stayed near the building as Monroe started talking.

“I really don’t know that much about them. There’s not that many of them around anymore. They’re kind of a throwback to the days of yore, you know? Knights in shining armor. From my understanding, they come from a dragon-like lineage.” The Blutbad explains to the Grimm.

“Oh, I thought dragons were mythological.” Nick remarks.

“Dragons are. Dämonfeuers aren’t.” Monroe states.

“Whoa, so can they breathe fire?” The detective then asks.

“Well, in an obtuse way, I guess they can, yeah. I mean, from my understanding, and I’m telling you, I am not an expert on this, it’s a kind of ketonic—what’s the word I’m looking for—vomit.” The clockmaker replies and tries to explain, Nick more than a little taken aback by the comparison.

“You ever hear of the low-carb, high-fat diet? Puts your body in a state of ketosis, in their case, they can vaporize their own fat. Highly explosive and kind of disgusting. Unless, of course, you’re dancing half-naked on a stage.” The wolf-like Wesen then proceeds to explain next, which does clarify a few things.

“Okay, so how do they ignite it?” Nick then asks next.

“Static electricity would be my guess.” Monroe replies. “What did her father do?” He then inquires and Nick sighs.

“Well, he sort of burned a couple guys to death.” The Grimm-detective informs, making the other man wince.

“Ooh. Actually, that reminds me…” The clockmaker then says, his tone turning serious. “I got a call from my cousin Nadler in Antwerp. Apparently, a Grimm was found dead in a back alley of the Krijgsbaan near the Schoonselhof… Which, I’m sure means nothing to you.” He tells Nick, who pauses at the new information.

“What? When?” The detective questions.

“Two days ago. He was decapitated, and the head has not been found.” Monroe answers. “Rumor has it, it was the reapers. So I’m thinking, you know, you should watch yourself. Especially given, well…” He continues while gesturing to Nick’s wrist, meaning the saber, which the Grimm unconsciously covers with his left hand.

“I’m serious, man. A lot of people have tried getting their own hands on that thing throughout who knows how many eras. If someone finds out that you have it… Well, that just might paint a bigger target on your back. So yeah, take care.” The Blutbad then advises before leaving, Nick left to ponder over his words.

Following his talk with Monroe, Nick decides to talk to Ariel and so makes his way to the dressing rooms of the club, asking where the fire dancer’s was and knocks on her door. After only a few moments, the door opened to reveal the dragon-girl and Nick quickly takes out his badge to show her.

“I’m Detective Burkhardt. I need to talk to you.” He informs the dancer, putting his badge back away.

“Lucky me.” Ariel remarks and allows the man into her dressing room, closing the door behind him then walks over to her vanity-mirror.

“I’m investigating an arson-related homicide…” Nick starts, pausing when he notices a tattoo on the back of the woman’s shoulder, a dragon.

“I had that tattoo way before the books came out.” Ariel tells him as if sensing he was staring at it, then turns to fully face him. “Am I your first Dämonfeuer? I hope so. You’re my first Grimm.” She says next, the man unsure how to respond to that. “I was a little worried I wouldn’t get to see you again. Although I have to say… You’re not exactly what I expected.” She then remarks as she puts on a robe.

“What did you expect?” Nick asks, just Ariel ties her robe and approaches him.

“Grimms are bad-asses and that’s kind of a turn-on.” The fire dancer replies then says, seductively, making said Grimm pause. “Unless, of course, you’re gonna cut off my head.” She says, bringing up his ancestor’s rep for doing that to Wesen.

“I’m looking for your father, Fred Eberhart.” Nick says and Ariel turns away, walking back over to her mirror.

“You’re not gonna find him here.” She states.

“He’s a suspect in an arson investigation.” Nick tells her next, making the dancer turns back around to face him, arms crossed. “Two men died.” He states next.

“So you figure where there’s smoke, there’s an Eberhart?” The woman asks with an annoyed tone.

“Do you know where he is?” The Grimm asks.

“No.” The Dämonfeuer girl simply replies.

“When was the last time you saw him?” He asks next.

“My father’s a bit of a lost soul, detective. After my mother passed away, he fell apart. He blamed himself. Maybe he should have. He didn’t protect her. Anyway, he couldn’t handle anything. Especially me. I kind of lost both parents at the same time.” Ariel tells Nick, who couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for her, knowing that feeling.

“Does he have any friends who might know where he is?” Nick inquires.

“I wouldn’t know. I wish I did. Sometimes I really miss him.” The fire dancer answers and admits. “You sure it was him?” She then asks.

“Yeah.” The detective confirms.

“So you want to put my father in prison, and you want me to help.” Ariel sums up.

“I want to stop him before he hurts someone else.” Nick clarifies, taking out his card and hands it to the dancer. “So should you.” He adds then turns and leaves the dressing room.

Returning to his truck, Nick waited as he watchers the club, eventually seeing Ariel come out—dressed in casual clothes and carrying a bag—she approaches her own car, putting her bag in the back before getting into the driver’s seat and starts up the engine then pulls out into the street, leaving. In response, Nick starts following her in his own vehicle, making sure to stay far enough behind so she doesn’t notice him.

After some time, Ariel parks in front of a house, Nick stopping a few feet behind her, watching the dancer get out of her vehicle and walk up to said house. Once she was inside, Nick got out of his own truck and moves closer to take a look, finding the house looked pretty average. That is until his gaze lands on the roof, finding decorative rods on it that appeared to be made of copper…

At that moment, he hears what sounds to be roaring flames and notices a flash of light coming from the backyard of the house. Concerned, Nick approaches the house, moving around the side he comes across a patch of burnt leaves and dirt, kneeling down he brushes his fingers over them, finding a familiar substance. He then feels something slam into him and he ends up rolling across the ground, before stopping and he looks up.

On top of him was Ariel, who was in her Dämonfeuer form, looking at him before ripping open his jacket and shirt, exposing his chest. The Wesen-girl woges back to her human form, smiling down at the detective then leans down and plants her lips on his, stunning the Grimm even as she pulls away. The dragon-like lady laughs and Nick pushes her off then scrambles to get back up.

“Wow, and I thought I was hot.” Ariel remarks with a mischievous glint in her eyes while getting up herself.

“Okay, just wait a minute here.” Nick says, still reeling what just happened.

“No, I’m glad you stopped by. Next time, try using the front door.” The dragon-like Wesen girl says as walks towards the man, who backs away in response.

“Oh, I just saw something in your backyard.” He says.

“You did. I was doing a little purging.” She answers and Nick quickly realized what she meant. At that moment, the two hear the sound of a phone ringing and look around, finding it was Nick’s phone on the ground, most likely having fallen from his pocket when Ariel tackled him. Speaking of, the dragon-Wesen proceeds to pick up the phone and answers the call. “Hello, Nick’s phone. What do you want?” She greets the person on the other end.

“Who is this?” Juliette asks, having been the one who called.

“Uh, this is a friend of Nick’s. Who’s this?” Ariel answers then asks in return.

“Give me the phone.” Nick demands, immediately getting a bad feeling from this.

“Where’s Nick?” Juliette questions, clearly suspicious.

“He’s right here with me.” Ariel replies.

“Hey, hey!” Nick says as he attempts to take back his phone from the woman.

“Hey, take it easy, baby. Ow, oh, that kind of feels good.” The fire dancer says playfully, eventually the man manages to reclaim his phone from her. “Ah! Uh… Which one’s Juliette?” She asks as the detective puts his phone up to his ear.

“Juliette, I can explain.” He says to his girlfriend, not wanting her to get the wrong impression from all this.

“Oh, good, I can’t wait.” The veterinarian says back sarcastically, then proceeds to hang up. Nick groaning in frustration then turns back to face Ariel, who didn’t look the least bit guilty. He then starts backing away to leave.

“Oh, you’re not leaving so soon, are you? After you came all this way? I hope you’re not some kind of a tease.” Ariel says, teasingly, and walks closer towards Nick, who throws up his right arm, the saber taking on its gauntlet form and also its blade extending from it, right towards Ariel, who at first seems stunned but then smirks. “Huh…that’s unexpected…” The dragon-like Wesen girl says in awe and amusement while looking at the saber.

“I take back what I said before. You are bad-ass like the stories say… Never would’ve thought you were also the bearer of the Hexenmeisterschwert. And here I thought it, like Grimms, were just a legend.” The fire dancer then remarks. “You know, ironically that little gauntlet of yours, was once referred to as the Dragon Talon, if memory serves me.” She then says.

“Wait, seriously…?” Nick thought in surprise, his gaze drifting to the gauntlet in question and the realization that he nearly stabbed someone with it hit him. He slowly lowers his arm, the blade retracting as he did. He then turns and starts walking away.

“Remember, Nick, you came for me. I didn’t come for you.” Ariel says as the Grimm leaves the backyard, making his way back to his car and gets into the driver’s seat. As he goes to retrieve his keys to start up the engine, he pauses when noticing that the saber was still in its gauntlet form.

“What the…?” He says, staring at his armored hand in shock, flexing his metal-covered fingers. After a few moments, the gauntlet turns back into its bracelet form, the man still staring and then caresses it, remembering how it transformed and he nearly stabbed Ariel with it. “Did I, do that? Unconsciously…?” He asks himself, knowing he didn’t will it to do that… Nor that time in the arena.

“…‘as I’ve said, the saber has a will of its own, if you don’t learn to properly control it, it will take control of you’.” Kolt’s warning right before his departure replays in Nick’s ears and he feels his breathing get slightly shallow, wondering if maybe he was already losing control… If this thing really did have a will of its own, maybe it was for the best he didn’t wear it for a while… With that thought in mind, Nick goes to remove the bracelet from his wrist, when something gets his attention.

Looking up ahead, the Grimm’s eyes widen when he sees a familiar knight standing outside, in front of his car. Despite the metal mask/helmet concealing the figure’s face, he felt their eyes trained on him, almost like they were staring into his very soul. The mysterious figure then raises their right hand, revealing a very familiar gauntlet on their arm with an equally familiar shimmering blue jewel.

Blinking his eyes, Nick was surprised to find the knight gone, almost like they were never there in the first place. Not sure what to think about what just occurred, the Grimm forgets about taking off the bracelet and starts up his car, then begins driving home, less than enthusiastic about the confrontation that was no doubt waiting for him, and not noticing the burning gaze of a certain dragon-Wesen/fire dancer watching as his vehicle drives down the road…

Chapter Text

As soon as Nick made it back to the house, he was met with an unimpressed Juliette sitting on the couch, clearly waiting for him.

“Why wasn’t Hank with you?” She demands an explanation.

“Because he went home.” Nick starts his answer. “All right? I told him I’d follow up on a number, which led me to the club, which led me to her, which led me to her house. And Juliette… She’s—I mean, she’s crazy.” He explains and states, honestly still a little rattled from his “encounter” with the Dämonfeuer woman.

“How’d she get your phone?” Juliette asks next.

“It fell out of my pocket in the backyard.” Nick replies.

“Oh, so it just jumped out into her hands?” The veterinarian questions skeptically as she stands up from the couch.

“Oh, stop. No, that is—I know where you’re going, and that is not what happened.” He tries to explain so his girlfriend didn’t get the wrong impression. “Okay, I was hit.” He then admits.

“She hit you?” Juliette asks in surprise.

“Yeah.” Nick responds, though technically Ariel tackled him, either way…

“Why didn’t you arrest her for assaulting an officer?” The auburn haired woman then questions.

“Because I’m trying to get her to help me find her dad.” The detective answers.

“What does this girl do besides hitting young men in her backyard?” Juliette then asks next, Nick shrugging off his jacket, pausing as he wasn’t entirely sure how to reply to that.

“Well, she’s a fire dancer.” He admits, putting his jacket aside, and the woman bursts out laughing. “Juliette, listen. I could not make this up if I wanted to.” He says, almost pleadingly, as he walks up to his girlfriend. “I’m really sorry.” He adds

“I hope so.” Juliette says in response, though appears less annoyed.

“I would never do anything like that to you.” Nick swears.

“Then make sure you keep your phone in your pocket.” The veterinarian responds and hugs her boyfriend, who hugs her back. The two so preoccupied with their embrace, they didn’t notice something being sprayed on a nearby window. Ariel then steps forward and draws a heart in the grease, before adding a crack-like detail right down the middle.

After clearing things up, hopefully, with Juliette, Nick made his way to the trailer to do some research, thankfully finding the entry on Dämonfeuers within his ancestors’ journals, finding a drawn picture of the said Wesen at the entrance of what looked to be a cave lined with bones and treasures, along with what appeared to be a map on the opposite page.

“‘His children were even more fierce than the Dämonfeuer, willing to sacrifice themselves for him. We avoided them and followed the Dämonfeuer high into the mountains where we discovered his terrible lair, filled with treasure stolen from all the villages. The bones at the entrance of the cave were too many to count. If we did not know better, we would’ve guessed it was the entrance to hell.’” He reads the entry, then sighs as he leans back in his chair.

“That’s just what I need… An entrance to hell.” He groans to himself. Couldn’t he catch a break? Just once? Is that really too much ask? Probably… The Grimm sighs again, before hearing a tapping sound from the trailer window. “Now what?” He thought as he got up from his chair and approaches the window, pulling back the curtain, only to see a certain armored figure right outside.

“Gyah!” Nick exclaims as he jumps back, the curtain falling back into place as a result. He pants then hisses and throws open the door to confront the figure. “Who are you!? What do you, want…?” He starts to demand but trails off when seeing the knight was nowhere to be found.

That was the third time today he’d seen that same knight, and he had a good idea on what was responsible for it. With that thought in mind, he looks at the saber on his wrist and narrows his eyes, wondering what it was trying to do this time… Also if maybe what Monroe said about it apparently granting clairvoyance to its wielders had some truth to it, certainly would explain the strange things he’s been experiencing lately…

“Monroe told me among Wesen the saber is known as Das Hexenmeisterschwert. And according to Ariel, it was also called the Dragon Talon… Even Kolt said the title of ‘Knight-Saber’ is just one of its most well-known. I wonder just how many names this thing has had…” Nick recalls, realizing there was still so much about this weapon that was a mystery. “Wait… How did it get the moniker Knight-Saber in the first place?” He can’t help but wonder.

Nick found himself at the entrance of a large cave, which almost appeared like the mouth of a monster, the stalagmites and stalactites looking like rows of razor-sharp teeth, the soft growling coming from inside definitely not helping. However, despite his fear, he could not let that deter him. The beast within this cave could not be allowed to roam free anymore.

Clenching his armored fist, the one which wore a certain gauntlet with a large blue jewel on top, he then enters the cave, the metallic joints and plating of the rest of his armor clinking as he walks through the stone cavern. Eventually, he comes to a room filled to the brim with gold, jewels and other precious treasures, but the specific treasure he came for was at the very back… A young woman wearing a medieval style dress and appeared to be tied up with rope.

A roar then echoes throughout the cave and Nick turns to see a man approaching, no not a man, but a reptilian beast, a dragon. The creature snarls as it stares him down, but he doesn’t flinch. He merely clenches his right fist before raising it, the blade of the saber on it extending from the armored glove and then points it at the humanoid dragon.

Seeing the blade, the dragon snarls and charges at Nick, who manages to dodge its attack before swinging his blade back at the humanoid reptile, who growls as the sword slices its skin. The beast backs away, clutching at its bleeding wound, before glaring at Nick with fury, then gags and spits out a strange vapor into the air, Nick quickly backing away before it could touch him. The reptilian man then breathes out flames that ignite the vapor into an inferno that almost consumes Nick, but he manages to avoid it in time.

Raising his right fist once again, the gauntlet on it changes, taking on the form of a pata sword. He then charges at the dragon man, dodging another fire breath attack before swinging the blade down at the creature, the beast letting out a painful cry as its head was severed from its body and then rolls onto the ground. Nick pants, his sword, now stained with blood, still raised and turns towards the bound woman. He then hears another roar and turns to see a blaze of flames coming at him, raising his blade in response at the fire.

Nick gasps as he awoke from his dream—seriously, they’re just getting stranger and stranger—looking over to the clock on the table, finding it was early in the morning, making him sigh. He then shifts his attention to the other side of the bed, seeing Juliette still sleeping beside him. The detective then recalls the lady he saw in his dream and couldn’t help but note how she resembled his girlfriend, not to mention that dragon-like man was definitely a Dämonfeuer. Was that dream a memory…? Or some sort of premonition…?

As he contemplates, the Grimm happens to glance out the bedroom window and freezes as he catches sight of none other than the knight once again, staring in at him with its metallic masked face. Though probably only for a few seconds, it felt like an eternity as the two stared at each other, before Nick blinks and the knight once again vanished from sight.

Panting a little, the detective carefully gets out of bed and then heads into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself then leans back against it as he tries to steady his breathing. He then goes over to the sink and turns on the water, which he proceeds to splash on his face, before looking up and into the mirror, only to gasp in shock as reflected back was not his face, but the image of the knight. He shakes his head and his reflection thankfully returns to normal.

“Dammit… Between these dreams and the visions… I can barely tell what’s real and what’s not…” Nick groans to himself while rubbing his eyes. “Maybe Monroe knows something about this… Or maybe the files Kolt left… Haven’t really had a chance to look at the stuff…” He ponders over, his gaze again drawn to the saber on his wrist, wondering if being its wielder was worth it.

Later in the day, Nick went down to the precinct and met up with Hank, then the two made their way to the local railroad station, specifically where Fred Eberhart worked and talked with his previous employer.

“Eberhart was one of the best welders we had. Learned in the military. Told me his old man handled a flamethrower in Vietnam, and his grandfather used one in the South Pacific. He was pretty proud of that.” The man tells the two detectives, all three walking down the old tracks.

“When was the last time you saw him?” Hank then asks.

“A couple weeks ago.” The railroad employer replies, stopping briefly to check a rail lamp. “I tried to talk to him, but he ran off. He’s gone crazy.” He recounts then states, continuing the track along the tracks. “You know, his wife died in a fire, and he was never the same after that. Just stopped showing up. Felt bad for him, but what could I do?” He then informs.

“Where was he when you saw him last?” Nick inquires next and the railroad manager pauses in his trek, the detectives also stopping in place.

“Over by an old line we don’t use anymore. It’s an old, uh, mining spur.” The railroad employer tells the two cops.

“You see where he came from or went?” Hank questions.

“No. He was just walking down the tracks.” The manager replies while gesturing down said tracks, the detective duo looking in the same direction. Nick himself freezing when he sees, once again, the knight, who raises his right hand and points in a direction towards the nearby hills, giving the Grimm a funny feeling.

After they finished questioning the railroad employer, Nick and Hank made their way back to the precinct to do some research. Hank was at his desk checking over the files on Fred Eberhart, while Nick retrieved an old map of the railroads before walking back over to his partner at their shared desks.

“I got it.” He announces and places the map down to show his fellow detective. “It’s a map from 1945 showing all the old rail lines. This is the old rail station right there.” He explains and points out on the map.

“This is the spur line he was talking about.” Hank realizes, having stood up from his seat while looking over the map.

“It goes right up into the hills.” Nick says next. “I’m pretty sure that was the same direction the knight was pointing at…” He adds in thought.

“And it branches off into four tracks.” His partner then notices.

“Nice place for a lair.” The Grimm remarks, wondering if the knight somehow knew about it and was trying to tell him where it was.

“A what?” Hank asks and Nick realized he said that bit out loud.

“Uh, you know… A—A good place to hide.” He quickly comes up with a feasible explanation, his phone starting to ring in his pocket, which he retrieves to answer and walks over to his own desk chair. “Burkhardt,” He answers the caller.

“Hi, it’s me.” Ariel’s voice greets him huskily. “I’m putting on a special show tonight… Just for you. Don’t disappoint me.” She says.

“Listen to me—” Nick starts, not liking the implications he was getting.

“I know, Nick, you’re taken. I’m just having fun. Plus, I really would love to see your Dragon Talon in action.” The Wesen fire dancer says seductively. “Listen… I’ve decided to help you find my father. Come by my house tonight, and I’ll tell you everything I know.” She then offers before hanging up. Immediately, Nick got a suspicious feeling.

“Who was that?” Hank asks, noticing the troubled look on his partner’s face.

“That was Ariel Eberhart.” Nick replies as he takes a seat in his desk chair. “Says she wants to help us find her dad.” He says next.

“How?” The other detective questions.

“I don’t know. Said she wants me to stop by her house tonight.” The Grimm tells him while leaning back in his chair.

“Really? You sure she’s not playing a little badge bunny with you?” Hank asks teasingly. Though, given what happened between them last night…

“All I know is, you’re coming with me.” Nick states, his partner chuckling, then picks up his phone and makes another call.

“Hi,” Juliette answers.

“Hi. Okay, I’m gonna be right up front. I’m gonna be late, and the investigation is taking us back to the fire dancer’s house. And I do mean ‘us’. Hank’s coming with me. Tell her, Hank.” The detective tells his girlfriend before holding out his phone to his partner.

“I’m going with him.” Hank says, the woman’s laugh heard over the phone.

“Okay?” Nick asks while putting the phone back up to his ear.

“Okay, okay. I get it. I trust you.” Juliette replies. “Maybe I’ll be waiting for you when you get home. Have a little fire dance of our own.” She adds seductively.

“Oh. Can’t wait.” Nick says in response, admittedly excited, then ends the call. Hank throws him a teasing smile and he merely turns away, smiling himself.

Later, the detective partners drive to Ariel Eberhart’s address, stopping in front of her house before getting out of Hank’s car and approach the structure.

“Ooh, man, this place must be fun in a storm.” Hank remarks, noting the copper rods on the house roof, following behind his partner as he walks up the steps to the front door, knocking on it. Not getting a response, Nick knocks again.

“Ariel Eberhart? Detectives Burkhardt and Griffin.” Nick calls out, but again only to gets silence. Looking in through the window, he notices how dark it was inside so takes out his flashlight and shines it inside, but doesn’t seem to find anything.

“If her father knew she was trying to help us find him…” Hank starts.

“Her life could be in danger.” Nick finishes, seeing what his partner meant.

“That’s what I’m thinking.” The other detective says and the two switch positions, with Hank breaking the door window with his own flashlight, then reaches inside and unlocks the door. Opening the door, the two detectives slip inside, both their flashlights raised as they search the house, finding more than a fair share of what looked to be copper decorations. “What the hell?” Hank questions.

“It’s all copper.” Nick notes, remembering what he read in his ancestors’ journals and also his dream last night, both featuring Dämonfeuers.

“Why? I mean, I had an aunt who wore tinfoil hats for years, but this… Jeez.” His partner remarks as they continue to move through the house, eventually noticing an open door and peeks inside, turning on the light to reveal a bedroom, that like the rest of the house, was also caked in copper.

“This girl takes being wired to a whole new level.” Hank says next as he walks in, Nick behind him, noticing a series of photos on one of the walls featuring a soldier wielding a flamethrower. “So, where is she?” He questions as thunder rumbles outside, followed by the sound of electric buzzing. “You hear that?” Hank asks.

“Yeah…” Nick replies, confused, then starts getting a foreboding feeling. “I think it’s time for us to—” He then starts to say.

“Get the hell out.” Hank finishes and the two of them immediately book it out of the house. “About all we can do is run an APB on her car, see if we can pick her up.” The older detective says as they make it outside, a storm appearing to be rolling in. “Till then, you might as well go home and get a little… Rest.” He then remarks, Nick giving him an incredulous but also amused look as they get into Hank’s car and drive away.

Arriving home, Nick sighs in relief, then notices discarded clothes on the stairs near the front door and smiles. He strips off his jacket then begins making his way up the stairs to his and Juliette’s bedroom, more than a little excited, especially when he enters said room; finding lit candles set up and a figure already lying on the bed under the covers.

The detective takes out his gun and phone, putting them both on the dresser, then approaches the bed while unbuttoning his shirt with an excited smile. He then climbs onto the bed and kisses the woman’s neck while caressing her arm and brushing aside her red hair… Only to freeze when he sees a familiar tattoo on the woman’s back and backs away as she turns to reveal Ariel Eberhart.

“Where you going, baby?” She asks in a taunting manner, Nick staring in mortification before standing up from the bed.

“Where’s Juliette?” He demands, worried but also angry, as the fire dancer sits up on her knees on the bed.

“What do you care? You’ve got me now.” Ariel says in response, only to gasp when she finds the blade of a certain gauntlet pointed at her.

“I’m asking you one last time.” Nick says with fury in his eyes as he holds the Knight-Saber sword at the Wesen girl’s throat.

“Ooh, knight in shining armor.” The dragon-lady taunts, only for the Grimm to grab her, pulling her off the bed then shoves her up against the nearby wall.

“Where is she?” The man demands while pointing the blade at her once again. In response, the Dämonfeuer coughs, expelling vaporized lipids. Upon realizing what she was doing, the detective backs away before the stuff could get on him then ducks down just as the girl unleashes a flame that would have burned him had he not moved, before making her escape.

Nick coughs from the smoke left after the fire as he gets back up, the blade of the saber retracting though it remained in its gauntlet form, retrieving his gun then follows after the dragon-Wesen… Rushing down the stairs and then out the front door to sidewalk, but found her nowhere in sight, nor any sign of Juliette for that matter. Just then, he hears his phone ringing and rushes back inside and up to the bedroom, finding it still on the dresser, picking it up to find it was Juliette calling and so answers it.

“Juliette, where are you?” He asks, a little out of breath, from the running or maybe nerves he couldn’t quite tell.

“She’s with me.” Ariel’s voice answers over the phone, making Nick pause. “Time for a little search and rescue.” The fire dancer then says in a goading tone.

“Where are you taking her?” Nick demands, though also dreading the answer.

“Oh, come on, Nick. Where do you think? You know who we are. You know what we do.” Ariel says in response and the Grimm could feel a pit forming in his stomach as…yes, he was very aware.

“What do you want?” He then asks.

“I’d lost hope of being able to help my father… Until I found you. Offering my father a chance at redemption. Now Grimm up—it’s time to face your Dämonfeuer.” The fire dancer says next, almost challengingly. “Oh, and if you want to see her alive again, no cops. Although, you’re allowed to bring along your little gauntlet if you wish.” She adds before hanging up.

Nick was left speechless as he contemplates what just happened. He was panting, afraid for Juliette, of what Ariel and her father might do to her. Then takes notice of the gauntlet on his arm, the jewel on it shimmering and he feels determination rise up in him before he turns and makes his way out of the house once again, buttoning up his shirt—the saber returning to its bracelet form—then throws on his jacket as he did.

Driving in his FJ62, Nick makes his way to the train tracks, Monroe in the passenger’s seat looking over the map from earlier, the detective having swung by his place and told him what was going on and the Blutbad agreed to help.

“Well, my guess? ‘Meet your Dämonfeuer’, means, you know, ‘see you at the lair’. And according to this map, the third track goes into a tunnel, which would be… Perfect.” The clockmaker says as something appears to occur to him. “Dude. You know what she’s doing? You know what this is all about? I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. It is so classic.” He says, though Nick was only confused.

“What? What is it?” The Grimm asks, both annoyed and nervous.

“The quest. Your princess has been taken by the dragon. Right? And the rest is obvious. You know? Beautiful women being taken, dragged into caves, and the men sacrificing everything to go after them. It is the ancient archetype of the whole relationship megillah.” Monroe exposits and Nick recalls the dream he had, remembering the woman in it who was tied up and looked like Juliette… Or, was Juliette…? Glancing to the saber, he wonders if the dream was a warning.

“The only problem is, somebody always dies.” The Blutbad says next, he and Nick looking at each other, the Grimm noticing the troubled expression on the other man’s face, before turning his attention back to the road. Whatever was going to happen, he was prepared to face, for Juliette. The jewel of the Knight-Saber then shimmers, though neither man takes notice…

After arriving at the tracks, the two men got out of the vehicle, noticing another already at the sight, Nick recognizing it.

“That’s Juliette’s car.” He says while running over to it, Monroe looking at the map of the tracks again.

“It looks like the tunnel is all the way down those.” The Blutbad says, having walked over to said tracks and pointed out the way before glancing to the map. “That’s a long walk.” He remarks, Nick looking up and sees the knight once again, who gestures for him to follow before turning and starts walking down the tracks.

“There’s got to be a quicker way.” Nick says as he follows after knight, Monroe behind him. The two walk down the tracks, Nick following the knight’s path, soon losing sight of the armored figure, then come across something else. “What about that?” He asks, pointing out a vehicle on the train tracks which he runs over to.

“Hell, yeah. That’s a Fairmont sector car, man. A draisine.” Monroe says, excited as he got close to said car.

“Any idea how it works?” Nick asks, hopeful, knowing the other man had a thing for trains, if that model he had out during Christmas time was any indication.

“I haven’t been a model train collector all these years for nothing.” The Blutbad says in response.

“All right.” The detective says, the other man laughing as he climbs into the train car, fighting a couple lights and turning them on to illuminate the interior.

“Now, just so you know, Baron Karl Christian Ludwig Drais Von Sauberbronn, invented the precursor to this called laughmachine in 1817, so… You should know that.” Monroe proceeds to go on a tangent.

“Great.” Nick says in response, having gotten used to this by now.

“Come on, baby.” The clockmaker says as he tries to get the train car engine up and running. Thankfully, it didn’t too long before it began revving. “Oh, yeah.” The bearded man says in excitement as he gets in the train car himself, Nick laughing at his childlike enthusiasm. Getting into the driver’s seat, Monroe turns on the front lamp as he checks over the controls.

“Now, hold on.” The Blutbad says and pulls a lever, though the train car starts moving backwards in response. “Whoa, whoops. Sorry about that.” He apologizes, quickly stopping the car before it got too far. “Here we go.” He says then gets the car moving forward this time. The two travel down the tracks heading for the tunnel, Nick keeping an eye out for the knight but so far nothing on that front…

“Hey, I’m just glad I could be here to, you know, help rescue a woman I’ve never met before. Or been introduced to. But, you know, I—look, I don’t take it personally. It’s just…” Monroe begins rambling.

“Are you really gonna bring that up right now?” Nick interrupts.

“No, no, I know, I know, I’m just a little nervous.” The Blutbad admits. “You know, these are Dämonfeuers after all. And I know you have a plan, it’s just, you know, you haven’t shared it with me…yet.” He then says, though when the Grimm doesn’t respond he quickly comes to a realization. “Oh, dear god.” He groans…

Meanwhile, Ariel led her father, Fred Eberhart, through a cavern that was covered in copper, coming to a barrel holding copper pipes and a young red haired woman bound and gagged, Juliette.

“Isn’t she perfect?” Ariel says to her father, who stayed quiet as he walks forward and kneels down, reaching out his hand and gently brushes aside some of Juliette’s hair, the woman flinching back in fear.

“Who—who comes for her?” Fred asks in a gravelly voice.

“Someone worthy of you. A true, knight.” Ariel replies, Juliette looking at her in both annoyance and confusion, while the scarred man rises back up, still staring at the bound veterinarian.

Back with Nick and Monroe, the two arrived at the entrance of the tunnel, which was also decorated with copper.

“We better stop here.” Nick says and Monroe stops the train car, the two of them get out, thunder rumbling overhead as lighting also flashes, Nick staring ahead as for a moment, he sees the knight figure standing in front of the tunnel entrance, once again flashing back to his dream, but the next moment the armored man disappears.

“So… What are we gonna do?” Monroe asks, pulling the detective’s attention to him. “I mean, you can’t use your gun in there, you know, with them breathing all that gas. Ah, it’s too bad you don’t have a lance. I bet you got one back in the trailer—” The Blutbad starts rambling.

“I’m giving them what they want…me.” Nick states, having cut the other man’s sentence off.

“I’m not liking the plan so far.” The bearded man admits.

“I’m gonna distract them long enough for you to get Juliette.” The Grimm tells him.

“But what if I can’t find her? Besides you can’t go in there all defenseless.” The Blutbad protests.

“What if I get burned alive? We’re going in no matter what.” Nick states with clear determination. “Besides, I’m not entirely defenseless…” He adds while raising his right hand, his sleeve falling slightly to reveal the Knight-Saber bracelet.

“Okay… You sure that’s gonna be enough though? Do you even have a handle on that thing yet?” Monroe saw what he meant, though can’t help but question.

“It has to be.” The Grimm says and enters the tunnel.

“Okay, no, I got it. Just stay in the present, not in the future.” The Blutbad says to himself then follows behind the other man.

Entering the cave-like structure, the two men found a mountain of copper; pipes, scraps, decorations, etc., it was a treasure trove of the stuff. The sight making Nick think back to his dream and as if sensing his thoughts, the Knight-Saber took on its gauntlet form, with him clenching his now armored fist. Monroe stares with wide eyes, having not seen that since the whole Löwen games. Nick then gestures for him to go a different direction and he does just that.

“Ariel! I’m here!” Nick then calls out, though receives no sign she or her dad or Juliette were inside. He turns to face Monroe, currently hidden among the copper scraps, the two nodding to each other before the Grimm speaks again. “Juliette?” He calls but again gets no verbal response as he carefully moves further into the cavern. “Ariel! Ariel, think about what you’re doing!” He exclaims, starting to lose his patience, not noticing the jewel of the saber shimmering.

Deeper in the tunnel, Juliette struggled against her binds—which wasn’t easy as they were made of copper—having heard Nick’s voice and so became worried, not knowing what the crazy girl and her father planned to do with her or her boyfriend, when she hears a clanging sound and looks up to see an unfamiliar man hiding close by. Well, unfamiliar to her…

“Shh,” The man says while holding his finger to his lips before getting up and approaching her. “I’m here to help. You’re Juliette, right? We’ve never been introduced, but I’m a friend of Nick’s.” He tells her, appearing sincere.

“Give me your hands.” He says and she turns, revealing he bound wrists and he proceeds to take off the copper twine, just as they both hear another clanging noise, indicating someone else was approaching. “Don’t move.” The bearded man tells her in a whisper and quickly hides again, just as Ariel appears and walks over to Juliette.

“Time for you to scream.” The fire dancer says, pulling out the other woman’s gag

“Time for you to scream.” Juliette retorts and punches the other redhead across the face, knocking her out, then undoes the binds around her ankles as Monroe comes back out of hiding and approaches her.

“We gotta get out of here now. Come on, okay, follow me.” He says, helping the veterinarian up and leads her out of the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Nick continued to wander through the cavern, armored fist raised and his eyes darting around, searching for any sign of Juliette, Monroe or the Dämonfeuers… Once again that dream flashing in his mind. He then suddenly feels a presence behind him and turns, finding nothing, but when he turns back, he freezes as he comes face-to-face, or rather face-to-helmet, with the knight.

“You…” The Grimm breathes out while staring at the armored figure. “You led us here…” He puts together, the knight unresponsive. “You know, what’s going on… What they are…” The detective says next.

The knight remains silent, but then raises his right hand, revealing the Knight-Saber gauntlet on it, making Nick look down at his own, finding the gauntlet still on his as well. The armored man then holds out his right hand, with Nick feeling compelled to mirror his action and holds out his own, the two clasping their hands with the gauntlet together, almost as if they were shaking hands, then Nick looks up at the knight’s helmeted face, noticing his blue eyes through the eyeholes.

“Who… Who are you?” Nick then asks. The knight gives him no verbal reply, instead he reaches up with his free hand and pushes up his helmet’s visor. Nick felt his breath hitch as he found himself looking at his own face… Lightning then flashes around the two, the knight disappearing, leaving Nick alone and confused. Just then, he heard a coughing noise. Recognizing the sound, Nick quickly falls to the ground, avoiding a plume of flames as it burns overhead.

The Grimm pants as he looks up, seeing Fred Eberhart in his Dämonfeuer form—again reminding him of his dream—growling. The detective stares at the dragon-like man, before his gaze is drawn to the Knight-Saber on his wrist, the gem on it shining and he feels visions running through his head like back when he had first encountered the artifact; the meteor falling from the sky, the blue gemstone incased in rock being picked up, the bearers of the saber throughout history…

Gazing back up at the Dämonfeuer, who woges back to his human appearance, Nick’s eyes harden as he stands back up and raises his right arm, holding it over his chest, the blade extending from it. As he stares down his opponent, more lightning flashes, his appearance shifts between his normal clothes to the armor of the very same knight he had been seeing… The Knight-Saber itself then shifts, changing from a gauntlet to a pata-sword, which he then swings down, ready for the coming fight.

Fred watches with wide eyes as the Grimm approaches, lightning continuing to flash and the man switching from his modern self to an armored knight. He roars as he woges into his Dämonfeuer form again before coughing up more vaporized lipids into the air and then unleashes another torrent of fire at Nick, who doesn’t flinch as he continues walking forward, unaffected by the blaze.

Nick raises his sword before swinging it down, the Wesen man dodging then picks up a copper rod, using it to block the Grimm’s next incoming strike. The two men begin exchanging blows, the Dämonfeuer breathing out more fire but the Grimm avoids it, also protected by the armor that continued to appear on him. Eventually Nick manages to knock the rod from the dragon-Wesen’s hands and then lunches forward, impailing the other man with his sword.

Nick pants as he looks up at Fred, seeing him woge back to human, just as Ariel herself comes in, freezing upon finding the scene of her father being stabbed by what looked to be a knight in medieval armor, before shifting back to Nick, who then pulls out his blade and Fred collapses to the ground with a pained groan. The younger Dämonfeuer then rushes to the older one’s side.

“Dad… You fought valiantly, Daddy. You did.” The dragon lady tells him, the man looking up at her before dying. The Wesen girl was silent when a blade was suddenly pointed at her and she looks up to see Nick glaring at her with furious eyes.

“I got her, Nick! We’re out!” Monroe’s voice calls from outside the tunnel, but the said man was still focused on the Dämonfeuer/fire dancer, lowering the pata-sword.

“You didn’t help him.” He states.

“But you did. He died with dignity.” Ariel states as she stands up. “Now it’s my turn.” She states and starts coughing up vaporized lipids.

“Ariel. Don’t.” Nick pleads, seeing where this was going, but the Dämonfeuer woman doesn’t listen as she continues coughing and then starts spinning around, the vapor spreading all over the place. Nick then turns and starts running out of the tunnel.

“Father of fire, fierce and wise, dragon blood shall once more rise. Avenge thine father by dragon fire.” Ariel chants before igniting her flames, combining with the fuel stored in the tunnel, creating an explosion that rocks the cavern and spreads all the way to the entrance…

“Oh, shit!” Monroe exclaims as he instinctively covers Juliette with his body, shielding her from the debris from the blaze.

He glances back into the now burning tunnel, wondering if Nick was okay, when he sees the armored figure of what appeared to be a knight wielding a pata sword emerge from the flames. Then in a flash of lightning, the knight changed into Nick, the pata sword on his right arm before turning back into the Knight-Saber gauntlet then reverts to its bracelet form.

“Nick?” The Blutbad says in surprise, wondering what he had just witnessed.

“Nick!” Juliette exclaims as she looks herself, getting out from Monroe’s protective hold then holds out her arms as the detective runs into them, the two hugging each other tightly, just as rain began falling.

“You okay?” Nick asks his girlfriend as they separate.

“Yeah, I think so.” The veterinarian woman replies.

“That was a little close for comfort, man.” Monroe then remarks, pulling the couple’s attention to him.

“Thanks.” Nick says, grateful, both Juliette and Monroe staying silent as he brings out his phone and dials a number. “This is Detective Burkhardt…” He greets as he proceeds to report the incident, while Juliette turns her attention to Monroe.

“Are you a detective too?” She asks the bearded man.

“More of a… private investigator… friend of Nick’s.” He replies. “I’m Monroe, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” He then introduces himself while holding out his hand to the red haired woman.

“You too.” She says with a smile, accepting and shaking his hand in response. After letting go, she turns back to Nick as he finishes the call and the couple hug each other again.

Nick and Juliette were silent as they drove home, in Nick’s car, the whole incident weighing heavily on both their minds. Nick especially was contemplating the encounter, and not just with the two Dämonfeuers.

“Nick, pull over.” Juliette suddenly requests. Nick looks to her, confused, but does as she asked and pulls over.

“You okay?” He asks her, more than a little worried for his girlfriend, who shakes her head in response. “Look, Juliette, I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to happen.” The man tells her then sighs. “Look, if I… Had any way of knowing—”

“Nick, she was crazy. How would you ever know what somebody like is gonna do?” Juliette cuts him off and states, Nick mulling over her words then throws a glare to the bracelet on his wrist, remembering the visions he received before and also what Monroe told him about the Knight-Saber.

“Some clairvoyance you grant…” The Grimm thought to it, annoyed. “Well, I can’t promise it’s gonna get any better.” He then tells her, not with being a Grimm and also the saber on his wrist.

“I can’t promise I can keep doing this.” Juliette then admits and Nick felt his breath hitch. He understood, but at the same time…

“‘I know you love Juliette… But you have to end it and never see her again.’” His Aunt Marie’s words from back when he first awoke as a Grimm replay in his mind, maybe she was right… Wait, Aunt Marie… Kolt said she told a little about the saber itself… Did she know about it but didn’t get to tell him before her death? Though, now really wasn’t the time for that…

“What do you wanna do?” Nick asks Juliette.

“All I know is, I’m too tired to talk about it tonight. Let’s just go home.” She says in response and her boyfriend goes to restart the car. “I’m just glad that bitch is dead.” She then remarks.

“Agreed…” Nick can’t but replicate and continues their drive home.

After arriving, Juliette immediately went upstairs to get cleaned up, while Nick stayed downstairs for a bit to think. Honestly, he kind of wanted to go to the trailer and start searching for anything about the Knight-Saber his aunt may have left behind. But he was too drained after everything. Maybe in the morning… The sound of his phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts and he goes to answer the call.

“Burkhardt,” He greets the caller.

“Hey, man, it’s me. Thought I’d call to check in.” Monroe’s voice responds over the line. “How’s Juliette?” He then inquires.

“Rattled… No doubt a little traumatized… Look, thanks again for what you did. I can’t even bring myself to think what might’ve happened had you not helped like you did.” Nick replies then says, extremely grateful for the Blutbad’s assistance.

“No problem, man.” Said wolf-Wesen replies, then seems to let out a breath. “Okay, I admit it, I called for another reason… Did something happen during the fight with the Dämonfeuers? Something relating to a certain gauntlet…?” He asks and Nick unconsciously clasps the bracelet on his right hand, which was holding the phone up to his ear.

“Why?” The detective asks, recalling his encounter with the knight whose face was exactly like his own.

“Well, you walked out of a blaze of Dämonfeuer flames unburned, and as you did, you kind of looked like a knight from medieval times, or I guess more accurately, from a fairy tale… Unless, I was hallucinating…” Monroe recounts.

“You might not have been…” Nick tells him, switch his phone to his other hand and looks down at the Knight-Saber, recalling how it transformed into a gauntlet-sword hybrid, a pata, during his fight with Fred Eberhart. Not to mention, the feeling of being there and not at the same time, like when he fought Soledad and in the ring of the Löwen Games, came back.

“Dude, you okay?” Monroe’s voice pulls him back to the present, a hint of worry from him going quiet for so long.

“Honestly… I’m tired. Mind if we talk more about this some other time?” Nick replies.

“Yeah, sure. Night, man.” The Wesen man agrees then tells him.

“Night…” The Grimm says in response then hangs up. He groans, rubbing his hands over his face before heading up the stairs towards his bedroom for sleep.

Monroe puts his phone down after Nick ended the call, a complicated expression currently on his face as he turns his focus to a book set out on the coffee table, specifically the one about the Knight-Saber, aka Hexenmeisterschwert, currently opened to a page that featured an illustration of a knightly-figure with his right arm raised, a pata sword adorning it.

The Blutbad’s expression pinches as he looks over the image, thinking back to what he witnessed, both at the tunnel and also during the Löwen Games, unable to help the concern rising in him for the Grimm, considering there was still a lot about the saber neither of them knew. Not to dissimilar from the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, while based on true events, a lot of details were either changed or had been left out entirely…

Standing in what appeared to be a medieval-styled training yard, he watches as the young squires practiced their swordsmanship in preparation for being officially knighted one day. One in particular stood out among the others, facing up to five opponents whom he takes down with incredible skill. Curious, he gets the squire’s attention and has him approach.

“Your Highness,” The young man greets, bowing before him with his sword held downwards to the ground. He couldn’t help but grin at the show of proper respect.

“Rise. Tell me your name.” He then requests and the squire lifts his head, revealing dark hair and contrasting blue eyes, then stands up straight with confidence.

“Nikolai, my prince.” The squire introduces himself with a handsome smile…

Sean groans as he awoke from his dream, reaching up he rubs his temples as he sits up in his bed. This wasn’t the first time he had dreamt of that knight, ironically it’s been happening on and off ever since coming into contact with the Knight-Saber… He then touches the area of his chest where a certain mark was, wondering if maybe it had something to do with any of this…