Disclaimer: (see chapter one) quick REMINDER here. I'm going with the ages the movie gave for the brothers, and in the movie, Will's the older one. I know it's not historically right, but I like the age-relationship thing they have in the movie, and I wanted to keep it. So that's why their ages are, historically, backwards/wrong. Please keep that in mind.

2

They had been riding for days. Once they had turned east in Frankfurt, they expected no more than a day or two more. They rode on and on, and in each town stopped and asked directions to Coburg. In each town they received sad looks, head shakes, and the instruction to continue east. Jake soon declared it "disgustingly vague."

Finally, a week from Frankfurt, they began to see the first signs that they were approaching their destination. The water on the side of the road got very cloudy, and then very dark, and then a thin layer of fog formed on top. Then the fog got very thick, and very black. They came to the front gate of Coburg to find the entire town engulfed in black fog.

"Doesn't look much like The Plague to me…" Will said sternly, but he sounded nervous. Jake nodded. The town was seemingly empty as they rode in. "Hello?" Will yelled. "The Brothers Grimm are here!" Jacob laughed. There was a creaking from behind them, and the pair spun around in their saddles wearing identical looks of apprehension. A young mans face poked out from a doorframe. He stepped out, wrapped in a heavy traveling cloak, even though it was quite warm out.

"Ah… Grimms." He said. "Welcome. Here… come in." He opened the door a tad wider. Jake and Will got off their horses and tied them to a post beside the nearest building. Passing the young man, they entered the hustle and bustle of an inn packed with just about the entire town.

"Hello Grimms!" A middle aged man rushed to them. "I'm the mayor here. We are all so glad you received our message… and decided to come." He fidgeted.

"Yea well… we were… intrigued by your… fog problem." He looked around as if to illustrate that there was, in fact, fog. His bored look suddenly changed to his most charming grin. "Will Grimm." He extended his hand. Most of the young women were eying him. "This is my brother-"

"Jacob Grimm." Jake cut him off. Suddenly he realized that he was sick of being introduced when he could introduce himself just as well. The Mayor more readily shook hands with him. "It's a pleasure."

"Now." Will re-took control of the conversation. Jake tossed him a dirty look. "If you wouldn't mind, I feel we should all talk in private for a bit. Sort out the details of all this." He took the Mayor by the elbow and led him off to the back of the inn, ignoring Jake as best he could. Jake, in turn, huffed, and considered not following them. He did though, and he had to assume he looked rather foolish jogging to catch up with his brother.

The three of them stepped into a bedroom in the back, and automatically Jake took a seat at the desk. Pulling out his book and pen, he arranged himself so he could sit facing the middle of the room.

"So." Will said casually. "What is this? Are we talking about some…chemical in the water that makes this fog? Or do we honestly think this is magic?" The Mayor was aghast.

"N-no! Of course it's not a trick!" he stuttered. "This is honest dark magic. It must be!"

"Of course… of course… you must excuse my brother. He's something of an ass sometimes." Jake said calmly. He bit on the end of his pen for a moment. "Let's just start at the beginning, shall we? Just tell us when, and how this all started."

And the Mayor went on to tell the entire story. How, about a month ago, they all began to notice the water getting darker, then cloudier and down the progression until all of their water was black and had fog over it. He explained that after weeks of this, they sent for help.

"So, we sent Robbie with a message to you all. We'd heard the tales of your heroism in other towns and we hoped you could help us too. We thought you weren't coming, it took so long for you to arrive." The brothers exchanged annoyed looks. "So you can understand how glad we were you arrived. Robbie was the young man who met you at the door. Of course, once the fog overwhelmed the entire village most of the town agreed we ought to all move in together, safety in numbers, you know. So here we are. We've been living off the alcohol here for almost two weeks, since we can't drink the water."

"Oh, well. That explains things." Will scoffed. Jake rolled his eyes and scribbled some notes down.

"How do you mean?" the Mayor asked innocently.

"The boy… Robbie? Who met us at the door; he was wearing one of the thickest cloaks I've ever seen. Mind you, it's summer!"

"Oh... yes, well. We don't want to be exposed to the fog too much. It does… strange things to people. Very strange things…"

"Like what?" Jake asked.

"It's hard to explain. Makes them… a little crazy I have to say. We… we don't really have any proof that it's the fog that does this, but… it could be. You know, it's really the only explanation." Jake chewed the end of his pen and buried his face in his hands, thinking.

"Was there…" he started, then changed his mind. "Did the fog seem to… originate from anywhere?" The Mayor jumped, as if suddenly hit by an idea.

"The Lake!" he exclaimed. "We saw the first signs of the fog out on the lake!

"Then that's where we should begin our investigation." Will burst in. "We'll need a boat, of course… and a guide probably…"

"Oh no… I don't think a guide would help you… nor do I think that anyone would be willing to go with you… to venture out into that fog… oh no… oh no…" The Mayor shook his head sadly.

"Fine then," Will pouted. "We'll go alone. Just supply us with a boat, and let us go out there alone." The Mayor sighed and Jake threw Will a secret, desperate glance. Going out on that foggy, maybe evil, lake, all alone, did not sound at all like a good plan. Or even a decent plan. Will ignored him good-naturedly, and Jake moaned.

"I can't say I suggest it…" the Mayor mumbled, more to himself than to either Will or Jake. "What do you think?" He asked Jake.

"Well…" He paused, looking towards Will. He wore an angry expression. "I can't say I think it's completely wise to go out on that lake, but…it's certainly necessary." Will smiled at him, grateful Jake had stuck up for his decision. "I think we ought to go tomorrow morning, early… So we have as much light as possible for as long as possible…I wouldn't want us to get lost out there and not be able to find our way home!" He chuckled merrily, or about as merrily as he could muster. The Mayor gave a weak smile and moved towards the door.

"Well, I'll arrange a boat for you… for tomorrow. I…I suppose this room will be fine for you two to stay in then… 'Til the morning." He promptly stepped out and shut the door loudly.

"That was productive." Will jeered. Jake thumbed through his notes.

"You know Will, I think this might be dangerous." Will rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying we should be careful. That's all."

XO

Jake awoke before the sun had risen, panicky and in a cold sweat. Will slept soundly next to him. Trying hard to calm himself, Jacob considered waking Will. 'No' he thought. He couldn't explain the horrible feeling that had woken him, nor could he force himself to bother Will with such trivial things. He didn't fall back asleep for the rest of the night.

XOxo

Thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing. Thanks to StrawberrySunshine, Alatarial Elfjessie-ashleyThe Hobbit Lass and especially Irish Sundae. And to Alone Dreaming, sorry it's not historically right, but it is based off the movie. I hope that you (all of you) continue reading, and I do appreciate constructive criticism. I'd love to have it. I'd love positive stuff better, but I just like reviews.