Guess who's still alive? This writer! Hello everyone apologies cannot even begin to make up for this tardy chapter. And although this is just another excuse I will say I have not been having the greatest summer so far. I will not bother anyone with the details but I will say that I have been having a very negatively emotional past few months and so haven't really had the energy or the will to write.
Thankfully things have somewhat calmed down and I am feeling a little bit more perky and thus actually felt like completing this chapter.
Also I apologize now for any corniness that takes place in this chapter.
Without further ado, here is chapter twenty-one!
Enjoy!
The fire that once roared in Nick extinguishes away into his bloodstream and the smoke that contorted his body disintegrates into the blaring white floor.
He gasps in shock at the relief of finally having control over his body once more but can't help the groan of pain that escapes him when he rolls onto his side.
Biting his lip he tips his body to the left until he is sitting and finds himself almost falling forward when he is hit with a severe case of vertigo, however his balance comes in the form of a cold hold on the nape of his neck.
He freezes.
The cold hand's blunt nails dig into his neck and force him to rise from the ground. He groans in pain as the nails break skin and cause blood to weep down the back of his neck.
Nick reaches behind himself, grasping onto the arm belonging to the hand but quickly regrets his decision when the owner, without a doubt in his mind being the Grimm, uses its other hand to grab his wrist and squeeze. The bones in his wrist grind together until an audible snap fills the air and Nick screams out in agony. His body instinctively tries to pull his arm back but he's unable to due to the vice-like grip of the Grimm.
In order to defend himself, Nick desperately kicks back and experiences a fleeting moment of satisfaction when he connects with a solid mass but quickly regrets his actions when the Grimm grabs his leg and flips him through the air. He lands on his back with an 'oomph' and only just manages to stand up well enough to defend himself from the barrage of blows that the Grimm delivers with rapid succession.
Nick does his best to hand out his own punches, while biting back the pain in his clearly broken wrist, and kicks. But his already considerably weakened body is draining of strength quicker than a leak in a balloon while the Grimm continues on completely unaffected.
As Nick continues to do his best to defend himself he finds himself making a fatal error. As he throws out a fist meant to connect with the Grimm's face, the Grimm sidesteps it and grabs his arm. Their movements seem to go in slow motion as the Grimm, while maintaining its hold on Nick, sends multiple kicks to Nick's chest that rattle his lungs and organs before delivering an uppercut that lands Nick on his back once more.
The moment Nick's back hits the floor he coughs up a splatter of blood that fleck his lips and stain his teeth red.
The Grimm looms over him and without hesitation continuous it's attack. It keeps the same blank expression as it kicks Nick all over his body. At one point its foot manages to deliver a blow so precise to Nick's ribcage that Nick would swear that he could literally feel the rib crack and crumble away.
Nick's body instinctively tries to curl itself up in the fetal position but this does not prevent the Grimm from using his head as a football and his back as a blank canvas for blood and bruises.
He can taste the coppery tang of blood in the back of his throat that quickly starts to drown his airways. His body tries to expel the buildup of blood but as quick as he coughs up the blood more takes its place. The black spots that jumped around his vision has quickly exploded into masses that leave little light visible.
He's dying.
His body is shutting down and there is nothing he can do about it.
He knows that he should be panicking, that he should be doing everything in his power to fight back but he can't find the will or strength to try anymore.
Is this how Sean felt when the Grimm was assaulting him?
He can clearly remember the look of defeat on the older man's face as the Grimm delivered blow after blow to his body. The way Sean closed his eyes, as if accepting his death and preparing his body for the eternal sleep it would soon have. He can also clearly remember the rage that had built up inside himself and had given him the strength to destroy the wall that blocked him. But no rage filled him this time.
No, this time he only feels a bone deep tiredness. A tiredness that he has no trouble giving in to.
Not wanting to fight the inevitable any longer Nick lets his eyes close and waits for the final blow that will snuff out his pain and existence forever.
~break~
Sean keeps Nick's flailing body firmly pinned to the exam table as he takes great care in wiping away the blood from around Nick's mouth. Nick's shirt collar is stained with drying blood. The hand he uses to pin Nick down gently caresses Nick's neck as Sean gazes down at Nick with such devotion that you would think the two have been lovers for decades.
Hank winces as Rosalee applies antiseptic to the shallow reopened cut on his forehead.
"Almost done. Just hold still." Rosalee tuts as she sets the cotton ball down and picks up a band aid then carefully places it over the cut.
"There, all done."
As Rosalee puts away the first aid kit Hank rises from the chair and walks over to Sean.
"How is he?" he already knows that Nick's condition is getting increasingly worse but he is hoping for good news, no matter how unrealistic that hope is.
Another violent tremble runs through Nick's body followed by a hacking cough that contains more blood with some managing to land on Sean's face.
Not caring about the blood on his face Sean diligently wipes away the new patches of blood off Nick's face and neck.
"Not good. His pulse is getting progressively weaker and I don't have to tell you what the alarming amount of blood he's coughing up means. At this rate, the Nick we know will be dead in a matter of hours, if not sooner."
Hank sighs, "Isn't there anything you can do for him? A spell or-or a potion, something?"
"I wouldn't risk it. We don't know the kind of damage that has been done to Nick's psyche already. For all we know, another spell or potion could weaken his mind further." Rosalee cuts in, handing the first aid kit over to Monroe who places it away in a cupboard.
"We have to try something! If Nick is already on Death's door like you're saying then we have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying" Hank argues, flabbergasted that the people he thought were Nick's friends are so easily giving up on saving Nick.
Rosalee approaches Hank and gives him a sympathetic look as she speaks.
"The only spell that had any chance of helping Nick has already been performed. But since Adalind broke it there's no way for Sean to reenter Nick's mind without making up the potion again. We don't have time for that. I don't want to lose him either Hank, he's grown to be one of my closest friends and if I could I would give him all of my strength to help him fight off the Grimm, but I can't. None of us can."
A contemplative look crosses over Sean's face, a look that does not get past Hank who has been scrounging his mind for a way to save Nick.
"What? What are you thinking about?"
Without answering, Sean lets go of Nick's hand and speeds upstairs, ignoring the questions that are being thrown at him. He returns a few minutes later juggling a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon and five glass jars filled with various herbs and liquid concoctions.
His gaze determined, Sean wordlessly walks to the cluttered desk area in the corner of the room and sets his haul down. Maintaining his silence Sean sets to work.
Monroe, Rosalee and Hank exchange confused looks before approaching the intently focused zauberbiest. However, only Hank and Rosalee manage to make it to Sean before Monroe opts to remain by Nick's side in order to restrain the Grimm when Nick's body begins to jerk around again.
"Sean, what are you doing?" Rosalee asks, her voice cautious as if afraid of him lashing out at her for interrupting him.
His movements a blur Sean surprisingly answers her in a calm collected voice, momentarily surprising Hank and Rosalee.
"I can't regain access to Nick's mind but I can transfer some of my strength to him" he explains as he mixes the ingredients together into a thick paste-like substance.
Sean takes the bowl and walks back to Nick. He silently brushes Monroe aside and places a grounding hand on Nick's chest as he sets the bowl down.
Hank, Monroe and Rosalee watch as Sean dips his fingers into the bowl and paints foreign symbols onto Nick's forehead and cheeks. He then picks the bowl back up and holds it out towards Rosalee who accepts it in confusion.
"Have you ever heard of the spell fortitudine spiritus?"
Rosalee's brow creases as she runs the name through her memories but shakes her head when she comes up blank.
Unable to hold back his sigh Sean motions Monroe back over and instructs him to hold Nick down as he walks back over to the desk and quickly searches through the drawers until he finds a pen.
He then locates a relatively blank piece of paper and draws a line of foreign symbols. Dropping the pen he returns to Rosalee and holds up the paper for her to see.
"I need you to draw this symbol on my forehead" he points to one of the three symbols on the paper "and these two on my cheeks, directly under my eyes. They need to be as exact as possible otherwise the spell won't work correctly."
Rosalee sets the bowl down on the vacated chair and grabs the paper to examine.
"I can, but you still haven't told me what this spell will do."
Not even trying to hold back his aggravation Sean answers, "All you need to know is that if this works, Nick's chances of survival will triple. Now are you going to keep asking me questions while Nick lays there dying or are you going to trust me to save Nick's life?" his voice is curt as he levels a glare at the considerably shorter Fuchsbau.
Behind Sean Monroe looks ready to go off on the Captain for speaking so rudely to his girlfriend but Rosalee waves him off.
"I'll do it, I just hope whatever this is it doesn't do more harm than good."
Sean gives her a grim nod as he picks the bowl back up and sits down on the chair.
Rosalee dips her index finger into the paste and proceeds to draw the depicted symbols onto Sean's forehead and cheeks. When she finishes she sets the paper down and watches as Sean reaches into his pocket and takes out a pocketknife.
"You'll all want to take a few steps back" he advises as turns the chair to face Nick.
Uncertainty crosses over the threes faces but they do as they are told and step away from Nick and Sean until there are at least an arm's length away from the pair.
After the three have done as he advised Sean flicks the knife out of its case and without hesitation digs the sharpened edge across his right palm; his face shows no sign of registering the pain.
He does the same with Nick's left hand then, setting the pocket knife down, grips the bleeding hand with his own and closes his eyes. He kneels his head down as if in prayer to a beloved and the words that flow from his lips come out so rapidly that not even God himself could understand him.
As he speaks the symbols on Nick and Sean's faces begin to glow an unnatural white and the thin tendrils of the symbols seem to melt into their skins. The glowing from the symbols flow down their faces to their clasped hands.
The glow of their hands become so overwhelmingly bright that the trio is forced to cover their eyes or else risk burning their irises.
But it isn't only the glow that is physically noticeable, there is also the unsettling static charge building up in the air along with the deep anxious feeling congealing in their guts, shouting at them that something unnaturally powerful is occurring.
Sean lets out a ground rattling roar and the three watch in stunned silence as he woges into his Zauberbiest form. But instead of the rippling of his skin smoothing out, the ripples continue to wave over his skin. And if that isn't startling enough the skin on Nick's face begins to ripple as well.
~break~
Instead of the all-consuming darkness that Nick is sure should have taken him over by now, he instead feels a surge of power course through him, a surge that quickly becomes excruciatingly painful.
His eyes shoot open and instead of them being their usual gray, the irises and whites of the eyes are a full blown black and his face has woged into that of a Zauberbiest.
With the power of the Zauberbiest and the greatly muted powers of his Grimm side, Nick grabs the Grimm's leg before it can deliver another kick and snaps the limb to the left.
Before the Grimm can orchestrate a new attack plan, Nick snarls and shoves the Grimm away before lunging on top of it and dishing out a beating that puts him mountains away from his humane side and into the realm of a rabid beast.
The Grimm does everything it can to fight back but even when it can get a hit in Nick only snarls and causes further damage to its body.
With its rage growing, the Grimm finally manages to get the upper hand when Nick is going in to punch it across the face by grabbing his wrist and flinging him across the room. Nick lands against the nearest white wall and falls to the equally white floor. He is quick to get to his feet and charge back at the Grimm who has had enough time to get to its feet.
~break~
Monroe, Rosalee and Hank can only watch in stunned horror as Nick's body arches off the table and his face woges into that of a Zauberbiest. Every nerve and artery in Sean and Nick's body is lit up like a string of lights as the pair continue to be connected by the grip that a still woged Sean maintains on Nick's unresponsive hand.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Hank yells, his feet moving him towards the lit pair before his mind can register his rogue body parts.
Rosalee grabs Hank's arm and swiftly pulls him back. She retains her hold as an anxious and slightly impressed expression takes over her features.
"I wouldn't get too close if I were you. If I'm right, then a step further and everything that works to keep you alive will be fried" her eyes remain frozen on Renard and Nick.
Hank's eyes widen and he shares a perplexed look with an as equally confused Monroe.
"So what exactly is Renard doing?" Hank asks, moving his gaze down to the shorter woman.
"I believe he's conducting a transference of sorts in order to share his power and strength with Nick. Unfortunately I've never personally dealt with anything like this so I don't know exactly the affects this will have on either of them."
A determined look crosses Hank's features.
"But if you were to guess do you think it'll help Nick?"
Rosalee meets Hank's gaze, her expression is unsure.
"I honestly don't know. This could either save Nick or kill them both."
~break~
Nick roars as he punches the Grimm across the face and follows the attack with multiple blows to the Grimm's chest. The Grimm retaliates by kicking Nick in the chest causing him to stumble back a few feet. Nick snarls and throws himself back at the Grimm. He wraps his legs around the Grimm's waist and delivers blow after blow to its face and chest.
The Grimm lets out a roar of its own and grabs hold of Nick's neck and manages to rip Nick off and slam him into the wall. This barely phases Nick however who easily rises from the ground and charges at the Grimm who is waiting for him.
~break~
Sean's skin is becoming increasingly pale and the once bright glow that emitted from him has become a shallow yellow.
This does not go unnoticed by Rosalee who frowns and almost takes a step forward but she manages to stop herself before the command can go to the limb. Everything in her is screaming at her to do something, to help Sean somehow, but the logic in her reminds her that by getting too close she would likely only cause more harm than good.
Monroe and Hank may not know the precise reason behind Sean's paling skin and fading light but Rosalee does: Renard is dying. He is sharing a vital part of his physiology with Nick and in doing so is depleting his own life force and like every tank dependent on fuel it will eventually go empty.
She can only hope that Sean's hair-brained idea actually works.
~break~
Nick puts the Grimm in a chokehold and slams their bodies to the ground. A brief flash of pain radiates through his body but adrenaline quickly kicks in and eradicates the sensation.
His arms remain wrapped around the Grimm's neck as he applies more pressure which causes the Grimm to triple its efforts in escaping his hold. The Grimm kicks its legs and bucks its body but Nick's hold stays strong.
The Grimm's movements start to slow and just as Nick is starting to feel that he's finally going to win The Grimm curls its right fist and punches him directly in the ear.
Blinding white pain lances through his skull accompanied by the sound of a high pitched drill grating his eardrum into microscopic bits. Nick moans in pain and instinctively clutches his ear and collapses to the ground but in doing so he also releases his hold on the Grimm.
The Grimm quickly jumps on Nick and proceeds to pound into the indisposed Nick who is only capable of sluggishly holding his hands up as pain continues to reverberate in his head. He does his best to try and protect the vital areas of his body over the continued assault in his head but is having little success. The coppery taste of blood bursts forth from the back of his throat as the Grimm continues to pound its fist into his lower abdomen. The cough that has been building up in his throat erupts and results in a painful, wet sounding hack leaving his lips along with an alarming amount of blood that dribbles down his chin.
His already pale skin has become corpse like and his eyes have begun to take on a startling dullness that speaks of the light in him fading out. His previous feeble attempts at protecting himself have shrunk down into the occasional twitch at his sides.
Seeing that its prey is dying, the Grimm stops its current attack and moves on to wrap its hands around Nick's neck and apply just enough pressure to only leave Nick the barest amount of oxygen.
The barest amount of life flashes in Nick's eyes as his eyes widen and he instinctively reaches out to grab at the hands around his throat. His legs kick out beneath him in a desperate bid to gain purchase but is met with air.
The Grimm tilts its head as it stares down at Nick, its eyes taking in the grotesque Zauberbiest features. It releases one of its hand, while the remaining hand applies more pressure to Nick's throat, and runs its hand down the side of Nick's face in an almost tender manner. However the tenderness is obliterated when the Grimm digs its nails into Nick's face and rakes across the skin leaving behind jagged cuts that bleed profusely.
With only a minimum amount of oxygen, Nick can only weakly gasp and unsuccessfully try to jerk his head out of its grasp.
The Grimm's body resembles that of a snake as it leans down and sniffs at the blood slowly dribbling down his cheek. It's already dull gray eyes seem to become darker as it hovers over his face and licks across the opened wound. Blood drips down its chin as it pulls back and its tongue slips out and licks the blood around its mouth clean.
The Grimm's eyes slip close and what appears to be an almost pleasurable look crosses its usual blank expression.
Nick tries to use the moment to his advantage by bucking his body but this only results in pissing the Grimm off. The Grimm's eyes shoot open and Nick is both horrified and stunned to see that the Grimm's eyes are now a demonic black that encases the entire irises and whites of the eyes.
It releases Nick's throat giving Nick a momentary moment of aching relief to gasp in a mouthful of air. But, as expected his relief is short lived when the Grimm launches right back into its assault by curling back its free fist and with ground breaking strength plows its hand directly into Nick's abdomen.
~break~
A baseball sized hole manifests itself in Nick's bare abdomen. Blood bursts from the open wound like a geyser with the inner workings of Nick's abdominal cavity on full display.
Even though the trio has kept a fair amount of distance away from the light show occurring they are able to see into Nick's open wound. Rosalee's face turns nearly white as she watches copious amounts of blood slosh around the various visible organs before sloshing over the sides.
Hank as a Detective has seen his fair share and then some of gruesome crime scenes but never will he get used to the sight of a once living, breathing human being reduced to nothing but decaying flesh. For the longest time Hank was sure that the worse sight he would ever witness was that of a young woman with her head smashed through the windshield, blood running from her open mouth and head wound onto the roof of the floor. Her once blue eyes fogged over and her mouth opened into a silent scream.
But Hank can now safely say that the image of Nick with a gaping hole in his stomach as his insides chug around inside him will forever haunt him with just as much horror as the young woman's frozen corpse.
It is Monroe however who is having the most severe reaction to the visual however. Even though he has been a faithful wieder blutbad for some time now the scent and visual blood of fresh HUMAN blood is enough to make his feral instincts combat with his Zen like instincts to lunge at the source (Nick) and coat his belly with the delicious meat.
Up until this he had been able to control himself from giving into the instincts when Nick's skin would be sliced open and blood would consequently flow out. However, those cuts never exposed innards and so the battle against his feral instincts was easier. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case because as soon as his eyes lay upon the exposed organs inside of Nick his eyes flash red and his body jerks forward.
"Monroe!" Rosalee screams as she tries to reach out for him. But her grasp falls short and they can only watch in horror as a blinding flash of white light drops seemingly out of the heavens and catapults Monroe backwards into the rubbles of the a bookshelf. His body crumples to the floor with a dull thud.
The sluggish chugging sound and slimy movement soon ceases and seals itself close leaving behind only a large smear of blood across Nick's pale torso.
Rosalee rushes to Monroe's side and hurriedly digs him out from beneath the debris. Monroe groans in pain as he slowly turns himself onto his back.
A teary smile spreads across Rosalee's face as she gently gathers him in her arms and places brief kisses all over his face and neck. Monroe mumbles that he's fine as he tries to push himself up from the cold floor.
The room spins like a tilted record and he quickly slumps back into Rosalee's warm embrace.
"Stay down. You could have a concussion." Rosalee scolds, placing another kiss on the side of his head.
A shameful look crosses Monroe's face as he does his best to adjust his kaleidoscope vision towards Renard and Nick who are still slightly glowing and unresponsive. All his hard work of controlling his baser instincts had been effectively eradicated in the few seconds it took him to cease to be a wieder and step back into being a feral blutbad.
The thing that sickened him the most though, was that it wasn't just any blood that had sent him into a frenzy. This was the enticing scent of his best friend and just the thought of what he wanted to do to Nick made his insides churn with unending jabs of guilt.
Recognizing the pained look on Monroe's face for what it was, Rosalee rubbed his back and, whispered assurances in his ear. She was aware that right now, Monroe was at the mercy of deadly tsunami of guilt that was eating him from the inside out and that her words were as good as paling water on the Titanic. But she couldn't just let him suffer in silence.
God knows the torment they are already going through and the shit storm that is quickly rolling in.
~break~
Nick's face immediately reverts back to his human features as he chokes out a fan of blood. He screams in agony as the Grimm roots around in his abdominal cavity, kneading his organs like a cat, as if marking Nick's organs as its own.
He can feel blood soaking his clothing and staining his skin with the plasma that should still be flowing through his veins.
The Grimm lifts its blood soaked hand out the hole in Nick's abdomen and with a lecherous grin, lifts the hand to its mouth and licks a long strip from the tip of its index finger to the middle of its arm.
His head feels like it is being pumped full of helium but the string that attaches him to the earth is steadily being pulled down into a pool of cement. The sound of the Grimm slurping up his blood dribbles out into muffled chirps and the pain that once high jacked his entire body is overtaken by an almost peaceful numbness.
He doesn't register the dull thud as the back of his head slumps to the ground nor his hands sliding off his soaked chest and slipping into the accumulating puddle of blood beneath him.
The white color of the walls are quickly filling with an inky blackness that rises from the ground like an ocean before a coming storm. It appears calm but the rising waves and escalating winds give notice of the building disaster.
If his mind wasn't so muffled with the comforting numbness and alluring call of respite from the hell he has endured, he would be fighting harder against the curtain that is being lowered as he takes his last bow. Putting an end to the production of Nicholas Burkhardt.
He could feel the peaceful numbness hijack the muscles that control the movement of his eyelids and systematically untie each rope that is straining to keep his eyes open. With each release, his eyelids droop lower and lower. His vision wavers like a glitch in a video.
His breaths come out in small puffs and the moments between each inhale and exhale grows longer. The blood that once bubbled out of him like a busted pipe has slowed to an occasional gurgle.
Nick no longer registers the Grimm's excavation of his innards. In fact, he no longer registers anything but the ghostly warmth that shrouds his body like a warm blanket in the middle of a blizzard.
Why was he fighting this in the first place? Surely something that saved him from an assault of brutal pain was good, right? After all he had endured didn't he deserve a place where pain was nonexistent and could give him salvation?
Just as his eyes are falling shut a familiar voice breaks into his subconscious.
"Don't give in, Nick. Don't let it win." Sean's voice echoes like a call into a deep cave.
"Sean… I'm so tired…." Each word is a struggle and comes out in a barely audible whisper.
"I know it's tempting but you can't exit yet, you have to keep living" Sean implores, his voice twisting around Nick's eardrums.
He subconsciously licks his drying lips and tastes the ever familiar coppery taste of blood.
"I can't…." his eyes come dangerously close to closing permanently but he manages to find a little burst of strength to push his lids back open. But the strain quickly returns and weighs down on the fragile skin once more.
Sean's disembodied voice lets out an aggravated sigh.
"So that's it then? You're just going to give up and let that thing win? What happened to the man who stood up for what he believed in? Who dedicated himself to becoming a new type of Grimm that didn't hunt for sport or hated wesen on principle?"
Nick let out a humorlessly laugh.
"He got abducted and rediscovered his roots."
A long moment of silence drags out. The already thick air becomes bloated with tension and hopelessness until finally Sean relents and blows the stagnat air away.
"If you really want to die, I won't stop you. Hell, I don't even blame you for wanting to end this. What I will do though is leave you with these words: if you give in all the blood it sheds will be because of you."
As Sean's voice fades away his parting words leave an ache in his heart that hums with each sluggish beat of his heart. But even with the harsh but no less truthful words, Nick still feels the uncontrollable need to plea for Sean to stay with him. To help fend off the darkness that is trying to devour him.
The warmth of the ghostly shroud that once brought him comfort now only fuels his growing fear as the ghost grips his heart in a vice and inhales all his body's warmth leaving behind an icy chill.
"Sean…" he gasps, his plea coming out as a shrill, hoarse whine brought about by the putrefying state of his lungs.
His ashen white hand shakily rises from his side and tries to chase after Sean's voice. His blood coats the left side of his hand like a delicacy thought up by Hannibal Lecter.
"Sean…." He nearly whimpers as the presence of his lifeline vanishes, leaving him behind to battle his own demon alone.
His hand collapses back to his side. His unclenched hand connects with the puddle of blood and sends up a light rain of blood that spatters both Nick and the Grimm.
Just as Nick can feel the last vestiges of life that his body has been clinging to shrivel away the Grimm does something that not only shocks Nick but also enrages him. It laughs.
Nick had thought that the Grimm was incapable of feeling anything but he had been wrong. It could experience emotions but they had been warped towards the perverse.
The Grimm's laugh sounds like a distorted version of Nick's own laughter. But there was no warmth or playful mirth in its cold gray eyes as it laughed at Nick's dying form. Instead, they remained soulless. It knew that it had won, that soon the Grimm would have complete control of Nick's body and it could then go about bringing hell to earth.
As the Grimm continues to laugh, Nick allows his growing rage to fill him with the adrenaline his body had been stripped of. To help the build-up, Nick conjures up memories of his mother decapitating one of her followers and her retelling of the night Marie fled with him. He thought of the day Monroe had been attacked by fellow wesen for befriending and helping a Grimm. Lastly, he thought of when the Grimm was towering over Sean and was beating the other man to the brink of death.
The memories swirl together like a twister in his mind. The sounds and voices come off as almost demonic like as they blend together into one warped track. Nick embraces the rage that coats his muscles and nerves as he manages to grip his hands and ever so slightly angle his head and upper body off the ground.
Nick can feel his chapped lips split and bleed as his mouth twists into a sneer that would rival the Joker's. The Grimm's laugh tapers off at the sudden change and it looks at Nick with a curious-like expression.
Moving with speed and strength that would seem unnatural to even a mythical God, Nick lifts his right arm and catapults his hand into its sternum.
The Grimm tries to pull away from his grip but Nick wraps his fingers around the bottom of its sternum's bone and keeps it in place.
A vibrant white light interlaced with wisps of electric blue and black erupts from the opening of the Grimm's wound. The whiteness of the room intensifies but Nick and the Grimm take no notice as the array of colors begins to interlock around Nick's body.
Unlike last time a strange cloud of power encased his body, Nick feels no pain. Instead, he feels a strong tingle that vibrates throughout his bones. There is also a pulling sensation that originates from the Grimm's wound and travels all the way down Nick's arm to his heart.
The Grimm lets out an inhuman screech and desperately thrashes its body around in a feeble attempt to dislodge Nick's hold on it.
Filled with renewed energy Nick raises his free hand and grips the back of the Grimm's neck. He pulls the Grimm down to his level until they are face to face.
The Grimm continues to snarl and screech above him, its spit and drops and blood adding onto the mess that already paints Nick's face.
Both Nick and the Grimm are now fully immersed in the center of the cloud and their bodies have an almost translucent quality to them.
Nick digs his blunt nails into the back of its neck leaving the Grimm only the barest of head movement.
"Obey me!" Nick snarls and, moving on pure instinct, yanks the Grimm forward.
A blinding white light builds around the pair as they're separate bodies seem to mesh together.
~break~
As Rosalee continues to comfort Monroe, Hank keeps a watchful eye on Nick and Rendard's motionless forms.
It was taking all of Hank's will power to not cross the invisible boundary and check on his partner.
For too long now he had had to stand at a distance as his best friend and partner lay dying in front of him with no way for Hank to help him. He was all too aware that among this small group he was, genetically speaking, the weakest. Sure he knew how to handle a firearm and could defend himself in hand-to-hand but while that was all well and dandy for dealing with regular humans, wesen were a whole other matter. For one, unless wesen actually want him to see them, Hank has no idea that he's dealing with a potential threat until it's too late or he is saved by Nick in the nick of time. Because of that, more often than not, Hank can't help but feel like a burden. Which is why whenever he and Nick and sometimes Monroe are investigating a wesen related case he feels like he has to constantly prove his worth.
Needless to say, he's tired of feeling useless.
Making a monumentally stupid decision, Hank is about to take a step forward when his eyes catch a strange, wispy glow emitting from Nick's chest.
Following both his seasoned Detective and natural instincts, Hank foregoes his initial plan and cautiously backs up.
The glow grows in intensity.
"Guys…." Hank warns, his widened eyes never straying from the unnatural light.
Hank's drawn out warning draws Rosalee and Monroe's eyes to the phenomenon occurring in front of them.
The glow takes the form of a cloud-like structure. A slithering ripple makes rounds around the cloud as it steadily rises above Nick's body.
Rosalee and Monroe slowly stand and take a few cautious steps of their own back.
They can only watch in stunned astonishment as the cloud ripples and seems to shoot bolts of lightning that wrap around Nick's body like jungle vines that have a life of their own. But what really gives them pause is the translucent quality to Nick's skin that has vein like strands of light accenting his paleness.
Just as Hank is opening his mouth to enquire about what the hell is happening, a ground breaking rumble rocks the earth beneath them.
Monroe, Hank and Rosalee barely make it the stairs before the cloud surrounding Nick quickly shrinks down to the size of a grapefruit.
The orb spins at an incalculable rate. As it spins a high pitched whine emits from the object that is so shrill that all three desperately cover their ears.
Hank can only imagine the agony Rosalee and Monroe must be feeling with their enhanced hearing. But if he's fighting the urge to tear out his eardrums he would bet that the couple would gladly chop off their own heads.
The Detective's assessment doesn't appear that far off seeing as both Monroe and Rosalee have collapsed to the ground; their bodies are nearly on top of each other as they grip their heads with their eyes squeezed shut in agony.
The strangeness continues as, without warning, the whining sound stops. In fact, it almost seems like all noises have ceased entirely which comes as a complete shock to their traumatized eardrums. The abrupt silence is such a shock to Hank's overstimulated system that he almost topples over but he manages to balance himself by leaning against the stairwell banister.
The shocks keep coming as without preamble the orb suddenly implodes. A fiery ring of fire rockets towards the three, giving Hank only seconds to hit the deck before being incinerated. Pieces of lumbar and plaster shower the huddled trio as waves of smoke obscure the area where Nick and Renard lay.
For once Hank's genetics give him an advantage as he is the first to recover from the assault on their senses. He shakily rises from the ground and stumbles forward, his mind set on checking on Nick and Renard.
~short break~
Sean's entire body feels like it has been scavenged by Geiers. Even the slightest twitch of a muscle feels like a sharpened prong is twisting his innards. He fights through the pain and manages to slay the darkness and pry his eyes open. Although the sudden onslaught of light lances through his eye sockets, he refuses to lose consciousness and instead forces his body into an upright position.
Once his brain has come back to a fairly functional mode, Sean immediately notes the state of the basement. Pieces of wood and plaster litter the room along with exposed electrical wires from the long light that used to hang above him. However, instead of the lightbulb, a giant hole now resides above him with a clear view into the main floor of the spice shop.
A cough brings his attention to an approaching Hank whose entire gaze is focused on Nick-Nick!
The memory of Nick's tormented screams as Adalind's spell assaults him along with the image of Nick about to surrender to the Grimm returns to him like a sucker punch to the gut.
His eyes shoot over Nick's prone form and his heart feels like it has been encased in ice. He ignores his body's pleas for him to remain seated and instead bolts to Nick's side.
Hank is only a step behind him as Sean gazes over Nick's prone form.
"Nick?" Sean's voice comes out as a hoarse whisper as he gently grasps Nick's unresponsive hand.
"Nick. Nick, please wake up" Sean pleads, his other hand rising to run his fingers through Nick's sweaty hair.
The hand in Sean's grip begin to twitch.
Hope explodes inside Sean's heart as he continues to urge Nick to open his eyes.
A frown etches itself onto Nick's still too pale face as his breathing picks up.
Sean, sensing Nick's struggle to rejoin reality, leans forward until his mouth is nearly touching Nick's ear. He smells the younger man's natural spicy scent which makes his mouth water. The desire to taste the tantalizing man before him is almost too much to resist. But, he quickly scolds himself for such thoughts and tramples the inappropriate thoughts back into the chest at the very back of his mind.
"The hardest part is over, Nick but the Grimm will still win if you don't wake up. Your mother and her insane clan will have won. Please, stay with us."
Monroe and Rosalee slowly hobble over and stand beside Hank. Rosalee, although battling against a wave of vertigo, can easily see Nick's deathly pallor.
"Oh, God. Please…." Rosalee prays, her hand unconsciously searching out Monroe's own.
"Come on, man." Hank murmurs, his entire body rigid from the fear of losing his best friend.
As the others are silently sending pleas and strength towards Nick to wake up, a strange but still familiar sensation travels through Sean's body. The feeling is redolent to of the effects of sangue a mente only this time he doesn't receive any flashes of corpses or screams of pain. Instead, he feels a peaceful warmth spread throughout him along with a familiar spicy musk that trails enticingly around his senses.
His eyes slip shut as he basks in the europhic moment. However, just like il sangue a mente there is also the highly uncomfortable aspects as well. His lungs begin to feel as if they are being squeezed and his vision whites out.
Riding the wave of pleasure and pain, Sean doesn't even try to fight the gut-punch reaction to release an arduous exhale of breath.
Like a dam collapsing, all of the roaring sensations gush from his body. Leaving his body barren of strength. Sean's hand slips from holding Nick's and makes a dull thud as it slumps against his thigh while his head tips down in exhaustion.
It isn't until a startled gasp escapes Rosalee that helps Sean fight through the fatigue to lift his head. What meets him is a sight right out of a fairytale.
Like a coloring book, color slowly spreads over Nick's body, returning his features to that of his normal healthy self instead of a decomposing corpse.
After all the color has been returned, Nick's eyes slowly flutter open revealing warm gray eyes that have been sorely missed. Those same eyes, although slightly glazed from exhaustion roll over and meet Sean's.
In response, Sean reclaims Nick's hand and gives the appendage a friendly squeeze, as if to show Nick that what he is seeing is real. A ghost of a smile claims Nick's mouth as the younger man grips back.
"Sean" Nick breathes, his smile seeming to light up his eyes as well.
His voice is like a siren's song to Sean's ears. He would gladly plunge into the darkest depths of the sea if it meant he could hear Nick's voice for the reset of his life. He would even let the murky sea take him for one more utterance of his name.
"Welcome back." Sean gives Nick a rare smile and bites down on the urge to wrap his arms around Nick and never let him go.
But like all moments, they must eventually come to an end. In this case the curtain is dropped by Hank who steps beside Sean and pats Nick on the leg, averting Nick's attention to him.
"How many more white hairs are you going to give me, man?" Hank jokes as he subtly checks Nick over. Just because the man has woken up doesn't mean that he is out of the woods yet. At even the slightest hitch of pain on Nick's face, he is thrusting him into Rosalee's capable hands.
Nick chuckles softly and replies softly, "I hear the salt and pepper look is in right now."
Hank along with Monroe and Rosalee laugh at his witty retort, glad to see that the Grimm can still crack jokes.
With the four extremely close friends finally reunited, Sean can already feel the walls beginning to shut him out. His usefullness has come to an end and already he can feel his role beind reduced to nothing more than a fly on the wall.
As if sensing the decrease in space, Sean's body subconsciously backs itself away from the four friends, prepared to take back on his role as the man behind the curtain.
His retreat doesn't go unnoticed however.
Although his full attention seems to be on his three friends hovering around him, Nick quickly picks up on Sean's retreating form but chooses not to call the older man on it.
With everything that has happened over the last few days Nick barely has the energy to lift his head from the uncomfortable wooden table, much less grapple with the variously confusing emotions trapezing around in his mind.
Instead all Nick can muster is a muted look of...something towards Sean as his friends talk animatedly around him.
Loose translation(s):
fortitudine spiritus: spirit strength
sangue a mente: blood to mind
Authors Note: See no major cliffhanger! I figured I do that enough to you guys and then leave you hanging for months on end (which is incredibly bitchy of me). Also, ooh, a mysterious look of what? Stay tuned!
Also have been a huge Twenty One Pilots fan for years now (so excited that the guys are finally getting the recognition they deserve!) anyway, seeing as this is chapter twenty-one I thought it was fitting to name this chapter after their song HeavyDirtySoul seeing as the lyrics fit so well with what is going on with Nick.
Listen to the song for yourself!