CHAPTER 9 – The New World(1)

New Timeline – Three Years Later

In the HQ of Hadrian Wall in New York, Meisner and Chavez gathered all the members of the New York branch to the control room.

Over the years, drastic changes had occurred all over the world, affecting everyone, human or not. First was the decreasing influence of the royals over the Wesen community and then the sudden rise to power of Black Claw.

Meisner had been part to most of it. Starting from being a member of the Resistance which had focused their offensive against House Kronenberg to sitting as the leader of Hadrian Wall New York branch to repel the new threats brought by Black Claw, his goal had been constant and that is to maintain the balance of the Wesen and Kehrseite communities.

"Everyone's here," Chavez informed and Meisner gave a last look over before starting.

"This is why I brought all of you here today," he said and the details were displayed by the screen behind him. It was the map of the largest city of Oregon – Portland. "Over the past three years, the Royals and even Black Claw that was still under the radar back then had both experienced suppression by an unknown force that had been repelling any advances they attempted into controlling the Wesen community. Now, after all those years being completely in the dark who and where this force that had been against them could be, they finally got a lead a year ago and it brought them here," he pointed to the screen, "in Portland."

Everyone are focused and listening attentively especially the Grimms. Whatever is it that about to come due to the increasing tension brought by the Royals and Black Claw, they will be a key factor when that day comes.

Meisner then continued. "And here's the interesting part, they were right on track. This power that had been antagonizing them over the past years is truly inside Portland. From then, they spare no effort both in the surface and in shadows to identify this power to either destroy or take control of it."

"What's their progress?" An agent asked.

"Well, this part is where it gets more interesting – they got nothing."

Series of gasped were then heard and they start to talk among their nearest acquaintance.

"Despite the amount of effort and resources they've expended into probing and infiltrating Portland, they got nothing. Every time they make an attempt, the people they send either die in an accident or go missing."

"So that means we got nothing too," someone assumed.

"Not exactly," Meisner rebuts. "Unlike towards those two parties, they're not, at least not entirely, guarded against us so we manage to get inside. Over the months, we too got nothing. Until, a week ago, by chance, that agent of ours went to a tea shop run by a Wesen couple and encountered a man he believed is in possession of some Grimm books."

The screen's contents shifted, displaying now the profile of a Portland Police Bureau Detective. "This is…"

Meisner was about to introduce him – Nick Burkhardt – but was interrupted when New York branch's best agent, Trubel, suddenly stood and exclaimed, "Nick!?"

All attentions immediately pointed at her. "You know him?" Meisner frowned.

Trubel nodded. "He's my cousin Nick, Nick Burkhardt."

Trubel's cousin?' "Your cousin? Then you can confirm if he's also a Grimm?"

"I can and yes, he is. And not only that, he's also my mentor."

Saying those last four words, everything else she said were outshined. Did they just hear her correctly? He's her mentor?

In all of Hadrian Wall, not just of NY branch, Trubel has a myth of invincibility. She's already better than anyone when she joined and she'd only gotten better over time. She's their best Grimm and their deadliest agent. Since joining the Wall she'd never once lost a fight or failed a mission.

No one knew where she learned and who taught her how to fight. However, everyone had already envisioned that whoever it is who shaped Trubel into a warrior that she is now, he's no ordinary existence.

But now, Trubel is telling them that that enigmatic figure is none other than this Portland Detective.

"Can you tell us more about him," Meisner insisted.

"Yeah but not much. He's very secretive." Trubel said then started, "I really don't know him or that we're related until he found me two and a half years ago when he bailed me out for shoplifting. He said he's my cousin. At first I didn't believe him but after showing me proofs that our grandparents are cousins, I accepted it. From then, he took me in, taught me about our ancestry, about being a Grimm. That the things that I've been seeing are real and they're called Wesen and we Grimms exist to oversee them. He even introduced me to his best friend Monroe, a Blutbad, and his wife Rosalee," she paused briefly then looked at Meisner, "You said the agent saw him in a tea shop, that's probably Rosalee's shop. He brought me there several times to read and learn some basic in apothecary stuffs. "

"Wait a minute," Chavez interrupted. "He's associated with a Blutbad?"

"Yeah, but not just Monroe, the Eisbiber community answers to him too. You know the current Portland Mayor now? Bud Wurstner. He's also Nick's friend."

"Why are you telling us all of these just now?" Meisner questioned. Everything she'd just said are very vital information that could make or break their cause.

"Nick told me not to," Trubel replied. "From the beginning, I think he knew that I won't stay. That I will explore the world with my newfound knowledge and I might get acquainted to people like the Wall. So he asked me that if it isn't necessary, I should never tell anyone about him."

"But you have to tell us everything now," Meisner said in a strict tone. "Our success against them might rely heavily on this."

"I know, and I'll share whatever I can."

"Now, as a Grimm, how is he?"

"Powerful, and mysterious, even for a Grimm. He's the first Grimm I'd been acquainted to so initially, I thought what he can do was a norm. Only later I found out that other Grimms don't possess the same abilities he has."

"And what kind of abilities are those?"

"First of all, he could heal. During the six months that I'd trained under him, we would spar and he will beat me up until I'm half dead every single time. But whenever I dropped to that state, he will touch my forehead and all my injuries will just magically disappear. Then we will resume, rinse, repeat until I improve. He trained me that way every day for the next six months."

Hearing this, everyone in the room, including Meisner, were shock. A power to heal? Aside from that, they also cringe to the hellish training Trubel had undertaken. No wonder she's pretty good. Surviving that, her only end is to grow strong.

"Another is that he seems to be invulnerable," she said. "When we train with blades, he makes me use real ones and instruct me to attack with the intention to kill. He will always pose as an attacking Wesen and every time I succeed, that should have kill him but no, regardless how heavy or how sharp the weapon is, I could not even scratch him."

Meisner rubbed his chin and mused. Healing and invulnerability, anyone who possess such ability are invincible in wars and Grimms are people that are in constant strife. "How about his family? Aside from you, does he have any other relatives?"

"His mom and aunt, both Grimms. They're overseas, doing Grimm activities in other continents, Asia and Europe, which one is where and where in those exactly," she shrugged, "I don't know."

Trubel stopped, implying that that's the end. However, Meisner could tell that she's still holding back something. "And? Anything else?"

Trubel remained silent. Hesitation is evident in her face.

"Trubel, you promised that you'll tell us everything. Now, is there anything else?"

She sighed and finally spilled it out. "It's Nick's girlfriend or wife, I don't know if they're married but he has a live-in partner."

'A girlfriend?' "Can you tell us about this girlfriend? What does she looks like?"

"Around 5'4, blonde, very beautiful, and Nick is very protective of her. In the months that I'd stayed with him, I'd only seen her once."

"Do you have her name?"

"Adalind. Her name is Adalind."

Meisner frowned. Adalind? A blonde woman?

Suddenly, he remembered a favor once asked to him by a former acquaintance back when he was still with the Resistance.

Sean Renard, a bastard and an exiled prince of House Kronenberg and a primary supporter of the Resistance had once requested for his help to find a missing acquaintance of his. A Hexenbeist named Adalind Schade.

She'd been missing for a month back then and Renard had already mobilized his policemen to find her but none produces any result. So he resorted to him who has more means to find missing people.

He did it as a favor to a brother-in-arm and a friend but the search ceased a couple of months later when she reemerged and revealed that she'd always been in Portland the entire time.

As it turns out, Adalind was avoiding Renard and her mother on purpose after she finds out that they were having an affair.

Meisner got to admit, he was attracted to Adalind back then and he accepted the request not only for his friend but to ensure that such an admirable woman is safe and away from harm.

So when he finds the reason of her running away, Meisner was utterly disgusted over his friend's actions and he pulled off his assistance immediately. Doing something like that to her, Ms. Schade deserves not to be found by them.

But now, Trubel is telling him that Nick Burkhardt, the Grimm with mysterious powers, is in a relationship with a blonde woman named Adalind. Adalind is not a common name. So immediately, Meisner manipulated the keyboard in front of him and extracted her profile. "Is this her?" He flashed her profile to the screen.

"Yeah," Trubel replied. "That's her. That's Adalind."

"Then this just got more intriguing," he declared.

"Why?" Trubel wondered.

"Adalind Schade is a Hexenbeist."

A Grimm and a Hexenbeist together? A Witch and a Witch Hunter. That's a whole new type of weird.


A headache instantly rose to Sean Renard's forehead the moment he saw Catherine's figure inching closer to his office. 'Oh fuck! Not again!' "Catherine, you have to stop barging into my office. How many time do I have to remind you of that?!"

"Three years, Sean," Catherine snarled. "Three years. I haven't seen my daughter in three years."

Sean rubbed his aching forehead. "Look Catherine, the problem here is that Adalind is not missing."

After not getting out of that hospital three years ago, Sean personally filed Adalind as missing and for three months, he mobilized not only the precinct but even asked a friend from covert operations to find her. However, the search revealed that she was not actually missing but due to personal reasons she was purposely avoiding him and her mother.

Due to that being the case, he could no longer mobilize the precinct to find her and even Meisner bailed out.

"My hands are tied," he reasoned.

"Sean," Catherine glared. "We know what's going on in House Kronenberg nowadays. It's the perfect chance to strike. But how can we do that if we don't have my daughter!"

"You think I didn't know that?" The influence of House Kronenberg, for some reasons, had been deteriorating over the last couple of years. The infighting is getting worse and even though the Resistance collapsed in the end, House Kronenberg had still suffered some devastating blows especially when his brother Eric and his cousins, Viktor and Kenneth, met their demise when they attempted to infiltrate Portland nearly a year ago.

Losing his heir and those next in line, less and less people are supporting the throne, Frederick Renard's reign is more vulnerable than ever. Overthrowing him would only be a matter of time but to secure his claim to the throne, Sean needed a power that will back him up. Adalind and her mother is one and a Grimm possessing several legacies working under him will be another.

But right now, Adalind is avoiding them and the Grimm, Nick Burkhardt, is unapproachable.

"If there's someone who wants Adalind back more than anyone here, that's me." The throne is within his grasp but he could not claim it.

"Then do that!" Catherine exclaimed. "Whatever it takes!"

"I'm doing the best I can here." He already hired people to get Adalind back but they either gave up or goes missing themselves. This led Sean to assume that someone is supporting her and whoever it is has some serious mojo.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a familiar figure through the window blinds of his office. Immediately, he moved closer to the window and pulled the blinds down to have a clearer look. Catherine tailed behind him and followed his gaze. "Isn't that…?"

"Adalind?"

Adalind is inside his precinct.