Hola! It's me again. Sorry about the long wait but here I am, I have returned to bring you further entertainment.

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Enjoy!

Isaiah watched from a distance as his target, Marcus Gene Howard went about his routine; getting up at approximately 5 AM, fixing himself a healthy breakfast of egg whites mixed with chopped vegetables and a glass of orange juice and finally getting in his blue Ford at exactly 6:15 and get on his way to his full time job as a real-estate agent at a newly developed agency.

He had been observing the man for the past three hours now, having followed his every move from leaving his house to arriving at work. Currently, he was just leaving the building to go on his lunch break.

He couldn't afford to let this one out of his sights, he was the final contribution needed and there wasn't enough time to track down another. One mistake could cost him and more importantly his clan everything.

Getting into his car he tailed the car from a safe distance, not too close and not too far.

One of the routines that Isaiah found most convenient was the fact that he always took his lunch break at home, making it that much easier to get him alone.

Isaiah parked two houses down from Marcus' house and waited and watched as Marcus pulled into his driveway and got out of the car, his cellphone in hand as he talked to someone on the other end.

Waiting a few minutes until after he had entered the house Isaiah got out of his car and did his best to look inconspicuous as he walked towards the house.

The neighborhood that his target lived in was a middle class one, meaning that all the houses weren't mansions or matching but that they were all relatively well kept, everyone had a full time job that kept them away at this time of the day and if there were children they were all in school.

But it never hurt to be too cautious.

Coming to the front yard he looked around before dashing across the lawn then creeping along the side of the house to the back door.

He watched from outside as his target moved about in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich and watching something on television but was more background noise than anything.

It was when he had finished his sandwich and walked into the dining area that Isaiah made his move. Taking out his kit he picked the lock and carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The audio of the television was much clearer now and he could ascertain from the content that it was some kind of talk show. Walking as quietly as he could he took out a medium length piece of fishing wire and wrapped the ends a few times around his gloved fingers.

Walking into the dining room he saw Marcus sitting in his armchair watching television as he dug into his lunch, clueless that he had an intruder.

When he was standing just a few inches behind him he accidentally pressed too hard on the floorboard that groaned beneath his weight.

The sound alerted his target and just as he was moving his head to take a look Isaiah struck. Lunging forward he wrapped the fishing line over his neck and pulled back with all his strength, the line cutting into Marcus' Adams Apple and consequently cutting off his oxygen.

Marcus flailed in his chair, his hands desperately clawing at the fishing line in a vain attempt to save himself. His feet bucked and managed to kick over the coffee table along with the lamp that was close by as a result of the table hitting it.

His face was rapidly turning purple as his brain and lungs were deprived of oxygen and his eyes were bulging out of his skull. As he continued his struggle his face woged into that of a Mauzhertz.

It was only a few seconds later that his flailing body started to become sluggish as his body started to shut down.

As the world was starting to turn black his face went back to his human guise Marcus had one last thought:

Why did his body and mind feel so numb?

When Marcus lost consciousness he pulled the line away from his throat and pocketed the item so as to not accidentally leave it behind. Walking around in front of the form he took the silver ax out his black bag and raised it back then rammed the sharpened blade into the Mauzhertz tilted neck, blood splattered his face and upper body with the blood of the wesen. The head fell backwards and landed with a squish a few inches away from the back of the chair.

Not having time to waste, he quickly covered his fingers in the wesen's blood and walked over to the overturned coffee table.

Kneeling down he wrote out:

"Întunericul din interiorul este doar Nicolae început"

Rising he calmly pulled out the bloody ax from the head of the armchair, the fabric tearing as he extracted the blade and leaving behind a slash that was painted in blood and gore.

He then pocketed the weapon and exited the home to return to camp.

~GRIMM~

Nick thanked the store clerk and walked out of the convenience store with his purchase of two cases of Duloc Amber. As he walked to his car he looked down at his watch and saw that it was nearing 11:30 and his pace increased, having planned on meeting with Monroe and possibly Hank at the trailer at noon.

Setting the bag on the hood of his car he reached into his jacket and got his keys out, but just as he was going to slide the ridged side into the keyhole his cell rang and he stopped. Sighing he got the device out and immediately answered on seeing Hank's name.

"Hey Hank" he greeted, shouldering the phone and unlocking the door as he grabbed his bag and slipped inside.

"Hey, listen we got another one" he informed him, his voice hollow and faint.

At hearing this Nick leaned back in his seat, his semi-good mood harshly stamped out.

"Where?" he asked, putting his car into drive and putting on his seatbelt.

"In the suburbs, 1230 Ashton Avenue" as he gave him the address Nick located his pad of paper and pen and wrote the address down. Once he had done that he tossed the notepad onto his passenger seat.

"Got it, I'll be there in a bit" hanging up started the car and pulled out of the nearly vacant parking lot to the latest crime scene.

~Break~

Arriving at the scene Nick got out of his car and walked over to meet Hank who was waiting for him at the door.

"Our latest victim is Marcus Gene Howard, 36 years old and a real-estate agent at Tanning and Jeffries real-estate agency. He apparently went home for lunch at his regular time at 10:30. His neighbor found him at about 11:15 when he came to return a lawnmower and found him like this" he explained.

Without commenting Nick walked past him and followed the sound of activity to the living room and was greeted with a sight that was becoming all too routine.

Sensing Hank's presence he continued to ignore him as he walked to the body and examined it with empty eyes.

Taking in the blood, the paling skin and the smell of decay setting in Nick found himself to be strangely numb, where before he had been feeling the thrill of each kill was now being replaced with a dark emptiness that he couldn't explain.

Looking over the corpse he zeroed in on the remains of the neck and discovered a harsh line that was imbedded into the throat, going all the way around from where each ear would have been. Not finding anything else he rose from the floor and looked around, stopping when he had completely turned around and was looking at the upturned coffee table. Waiting until the CSU had finished taking pictures he got a closer look and was greeted with another message:

"Întunericul din interiorul este doar Nicolae început"

Getting out his phone he took his own picture then pocketed the device and rose from the ground to go and talk with Hank who had likely been observing him the entire time from the entry way into the living room.

He chose to disregard the worry in the man's eyes as he came to a stop beside him.

"Another new message, and on the body I saw some kind of indentation around his throat, maybe the killer strangled him first and then decapitated him" he theorized.

"Whoever this is doesn't have a shred of humanity in them, makes you wonder how many others there are going to be" Hank muttered, more than mentally and physically drained of this case.

Nick shook his head, looking around at the destruction that had been left behind.

"I honestly don't know, I just want to get this case done with and move on. Look, I need you to look up the translation of this new message and call me when you get it. I have to go meet Monroe at the trailer and try to put some semblance of a reason behind all…this" not giving Hank a second glance he walked out of the house and headed straight for his car, ignoring the calls of Wu who was trying to get his attention.

Getting in his car he put the car in drive and drove off, leaving the crime scene behind in his rearview mirror.

~GRIMM~

Isaiah entered the camp and walked straight over to his leader who was waiting for him by the smoking fire pit.

She looked up at him and a small smile lifted her lips as he presented the still slightly bloody ax to her. Accepting the weapon she rose from her seat and walked towards the tent where the 'collection' was kept. Isaiah followed behind her obediently.

As they walked he observed her taking out a faded rag from her pocket and smearing the remaining blood off onto the material then promptly handing the rag over to a young woman who was standing nearby.

"Give this to Sorin" she ordered, watching as the girl obediently nodded and hurried off to locate the old man.

With that done they entered the tent he watched as she walked over to the chest that was meticulously placed in the very far right corner of the tent. Placed all throughout the room where other various types of weapons that ranged from swords, kanabos, whips, morning stars, castration blades, dopplearmbrust and several other weapons that were cleaned and polished with great dedication.

He kept a respectful distance back so as to not see as she spun the code into the ancient lock and with a hiss the lock disengaged to reveal a keyhole. Yanking the necklace off from around her throat she pulled the hidden key out from behind her clothing. The key was in its self, nothing special, it was a dull silver and had three long separate teeth at the end with a faded engraved design around the loop of the handle.

But the saying of not judging a book by its cover rang true in this case, because this seemingly un-extraordinary key unlocked not only a chest but a world of mystery as well.

With a click the chest was completely unlocked and she pulled the lid up, revealing over twenty to about thirty silver axes along with other trinkets and odd ends. Taking great care she gently placed the latest and last addition to the 'collection'.

Taking her hand back out she closed and relocked the chest and stood from the ground, turning to look at Isaiah who was waiting for his next order.

"You have pleased me greatly, with this final offering we can now move on to our next phase, the procuring of our most important ingredient. Now, I am aware that you are more than capable of bringing him in on your own but I must insist on going with you on this one" she stated, watching his face intently and her voice leaving no room for argument.

Isaiah was a little taken aback by her request but it was not his place to question her, he was willing to do what she requested of him.

"It would be my honor to have you with me" he spoke, real pride in his eyes and voice.

"Good, we shall wait until nightfall and then head out"

~GRIMM~

Arriving at the trailer, Monroe's antique yellow beetle already there, he got out of his car and got the two cases of lukewarm Duloc Amber out of the backseat.

As he was walking to the door the trailer door opened and revealed Monroe who was wearing his classic annoyed expression.

"You're late, you know I'm missing a date that I had planned with Rosalee" he commented as he held open the door for Nick then promptly shut it after he was inside.

"I'm sorry Monroe, Hank called me about another body being found just as I was leaving the convenience store with your Duloc Amber" he said as he presented the microbrew to the irritated Blutbad.

Eyeing the brew he begrudgingly accepted the peace offering and set it aside on the old couch in the corner of the room.

"All right, I partially forgive you" he muttered.

Nick raised his eyebrow but made no comment on his partial forgiveness. He didn't feel like joking around right now, they had a lot of work ahead of them and any humor that Nick may have had had been sucked out of him by the bleakness of the case.

Instead he picked up a heavy book and handed it over to the other man then pointedly chose his own and took a seat behind the desk where he started to flip through the ancient book.

Monroe noticed his dark mindset and instead of letting it go he had to know what was going on in that mind of his.

"Hey man, are you okay? I know that this case has to be getting to you but do you want to talk about it? Get it off your chest so to speak, because I can tell you my grandfather one time had such a-"he cut himself off by the murderous glare that was seared his way, a look that Nick had never given him before and in that moment he had no problem seeing the Grimm that flowed in his veins.

He involuntarily took a step back, almost falling over into the couch behind him when the back of his heels brushed against the slightly rumpled edge of a rug. In Nick eyes he saw all the darkness the man was capable of along with his own human reflection that for a split second woged into his Blutbad form then just as quickly reverted back.

As soon as he saw the fright and consequent fear in one of his best friend's eyes the guilt and shame that flooded his system made him sick to his stomach. He had made a vow to himself shortly after really getting to know the man that he would never put fear in his eyes or any of the innocent wesen that he came across, he was going to be a Grimm that changed everything.

He was going to be good.

Guilt feeling his eyes he looked away from the book in front of him, "I'm so sorry Monroe, I didn't mean to scare you like that, it's just this case is really getting to me and I feel like I'm losing myself in it; Like I'm becoming everything that I've tried so hard not to be" he tried to explain himself, feeling like crap for the way he had treated Monroe.

"Yeah, I can tell. Your eyes, I mean I've seen them dark before man whenever you see a wesen woge but this time, they were pitch black man" he stuttered, the fear still evident in his eyes but a little bit softened as his heart started to settle down.

The guilt getting worse at the man's words Nick apologized further, "I really am sorry Monroe. You know that I would never hurt you right?" he questioned, even though on the inside the statement didn't feel as true as it would have a week ago.

"Of course Nick, I think the stress is just getting to you is all. How about we get started, huh?" his voice was higher than usual, giving away the fact that he was still a little scared of the Grimm in front of him.

Biting his lip Nick nodded and decided against calling the man on his continued fright, which was almost as bad as a punch to the face. Monroe was one of his closest friends and to have the man be this frightened of him hurt.

He vowed then and there that as soon as this was all over with he was going to take him and Rosalee out for a nice dinner to make up for all their missed plans and to also thank them for helping him so much in such a short amount of time since meeting him.

It was as they were both settling down to look at the books in front of them that Nick remembered the book that he had marked previously. Setting the book in front of him aside he located the earlier book and brought it over to him, going to the bookmarked page and scanning the entry over again.

The familiarity of the writing hit him again and he was almost overwhelmed by the memories that hit him with such force that he had to take a deep breath to clear his mind. Overcoming that battle, for now, he beckoned Monroe over.

"This is the entry that my aunt wrote, so far it's the only one I've been able to find that's on the Endezeichen Grimm" he explained as Monroe grabbed a chair and sat down beside him.

"I'm actually kind of shocked that your aunt would write an entry on your ancestors, considering that, you know, it's your family's history" he said, going off on a small little ramble at the end.

Nick didn't respond to his stuttered explanation and instead read over his aunt's entry:

The Endezeichen Grimm are the incarnate of evil. They hunt wesen down without mercy and without feeling. Around them no type of wesen is safe. Along with being ruthless killers they are perhaps the most unfeeling, demented species to ever taint the pages of these journals.

To Endezeichen Grimm all wesen are abominations that need to be wiped off the face of this earth without mercy.

During their killing rampages they were greatly known for their inhumane brutality while torturing wesen captives and cutting off toes, fingers, arms, legs and even genitals as barbaric trophies.

Nick looked away from the pages at the mention of 'trophies', the knot in his stomach worsening with each word. From what he had read so far, he couldn't help but relate a good chunk of what he had been experiencing so far back to the Endezeichen Grimm and his fear grew.

While Nick took a break Monroe had continued to read, his eyes paying particular attention to the next paragraph.

Their symbol, The Sterbestunde G, which in translation means "the hour of death", was branded into the skin of all their victims and drawn in the blood of their victims on the doorways of each house in the village where a wesen resided.

Seeing the hand drawn picture of the Sterbestunde G, the terrifying stories his parents used to tell him when he was little came back to him and he took a break from the book as well.

"Wow, I just had a horrible flashback to story time when I was a kid" he commented.

Not commenting on Monroe's thought Nick went back to reading his aunt's entry.

It has long been believed that all Endezeichen Grimm had died out but this could not be further from the truth. They are very much alive and are still continuing to massacre today. Clans have been spread out all over Europe and are known to live Nomadic lifestyles, which can account for their successfulness in remaining in the shadows.

If one should ever come across an Endezeichen Grimm, whether they be of wesen descent or human, they should always be weary and if worse comes to worse and you find yourself in their line of sight the only way to survive is to be faster, which I say with great remorse is a very rare occurrence.

In today's world, it is just as hard to discern an Endezeichen Grimm from a regular person. They no longer wear the sacred masks that concealed their identities but instead glorify their own faces in the night. They have no fear of being discovered and would in fact thrive in the openness of what they have done.

The words beginning to tumble around in his mind, screaming at him he found that he was having difficulty breathing. It felt his lungs had been closed off and an intense ringing was rattling his brain, distorting his thoughts with flashes of white and pain.

Rising from the desk, his entire body shaking with adrenaline he made for the door, his steps shaky and anxious.

"Nick?" Monroe asked, concerned for his friend as he clearly struggled.

He was barely able to hear Monroe, the whining in his head getting worse the longer he remained in the trailer but he managed to gasp out a response.

"I'm fine, I just need to get some air" not giving Monroe enough time to respond he opened the trailer door and hurried out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Now on his own Monroe looked around at the ancient relics that surrounded him, but instead of feeling the usual giddiness that the history these objects held all he could concentrate on was the clearly shaken Grimm.

Getting up from the chair he walked to the door and opened it, sticking his head out and looked around until he saw Nick walking away.

Just as he was about to go after him a cell phone rang and not recognizing it as his own he stepped back inside and saw the lit up screen of Nick's phone with Hank's name flashing. Looking back at Nick who was getting further and further and the flashing phone he tried calling out for Nick but was ignored.

Grinding his teeth he walked back inside and picked up the phone, answering the call.

"Nick, listen man, I just-"

"No it's Monroe, Nick just walked out to get some air" Monroe explained, standing in the middle of the trailer.

Hank paused for a second before responding, the urgency from before increasing in his voice.

"Look Monroe, I just translated the latest message, and it's not good man, not good at all"

~break~

Nick continued to walk away from the trailer until he had completely left the storage yard, his feet leading him as far away from the hard truth that he was being faced with. Somehow, for whatever reason, he was losing his battle with the Grimm inside him.

He had promised, while she lay on her death bed in the hospital, that he would only hunt the bad ones but how much longer could he keep his word? Twice already he had come close to hunting down wesen where one admittedly had been a criminal, but still there had been no reason for the brutality that he had shown the man. His thoughts were jumbling together, where they were starting not to make any sense.

Ever since this case had started his mind had become darker and darker. It was like this Endezeichen Grimm was awakening every dark urge in him and it was becoming more and more likely that one day, likely very soon, that he would just burst and no one around him would be safe.

Growling in aggravation, his knuckles whitening with the amount of exertion he was forcing on them, he was just about to lash out at the brick wall that was presented before him when he heard a scream that was nearby.

His fists slightly uncurling he put his intentions aside and followed the sound, his pace increasing the closer the screams became.

Coming to an alley he could see the back of a male and the shadowed face of who he presumed was his female screamer. Figuring that this was an even better way to get rid of some of his anger, that and it was also his job as a Detective he entered the alley and spoke up.

"Freeze, Police!" he shouted, reaching for his sidearm but realizing that he had stupidly forgotten it at his desk.

Luckily though, he had his police and Grimm training to fall back on.

Getting the perp.'s attention the person turned around and approached him, the woman cowering in the corner.

Increasing his pace the perp. met him in the middle and the fight began.

Lashing out at the perp. who he could now see was a man, he managed to land a few well aimed blows to his face and gut but in the process received a good amount of damage to his own face and stomach.

Before he could defend himself the man kicked him in the gut so hard that he bent over gasping for breath and was quickly followed by a punch to the face that made him stumble back into the wall.

Anger building up he pushed himself off the wall and collided with the other man where he rained blow upon blow to as much of the man's body as he could. Kicking out his legs from under the man Nick sat down on his chest and continued to hit him until he was bucked off and soon found himself being choked.

He tried to pry the hands off his throat but with the combined weight of the man sitting on his chest and the pressure of the fingers around his throat were making his efforts nothing more than pathetic slaps.

Darkness was edging in on him and his mind was beginning to shut off he had no choice as his hands fell to the side and his battle with consciousness was coming to an end he could vaguely make out a new form coming to join the man who was slowly ending his life.

At long last he was swept away into the darkness and not long after the hands were removed from his throat.

The man got up from him and watched as his accomplice kneeled down and checked for a pulse. There was one, but it was sluggish as blood slowly began to return to its normal flow to the brain.

Rising the accomplice turned, "get him in the car and make sure not to leave any evidence behind" with the order given they watched as the unconscious Detective was lugged up into the man's arms and slowly dragged to the getaway car.

As he was taking care of that the accomplice kneeled down again and gathered the small amount of blood that Nick had left behind.

Spreading the plasma substance over their gloved hand they then rose and walked over to the nearby brick wall.

With practiced ease they drew out the Sterbunstande G.

When that was done with they joined their accomplice who had gotten their prize into the trunk of the car and was waiting for them in the driver's seat. Getting in the car took off and disappeared into the night.

~break~

"Well what does it say?" Monroe asked, his gut churning.

"The darkness is only the beginning, Nicholas. They're targeting Nick!"

With the phone still in hand Monroe ran out of the trailer and ran the same direction that Nick had gone, shouting for the man as he ran but receiving no reply.

By sheer luck he managed to come across the same alley that Nick had been in not two minutes ago, having followed his keen sense of sense of smell. Stepping into the alley he was terrified when he came to a stop in the center of the alley and discovered the dime sized puddle of blood that belonged to Nick.

Turning his eyes widened when he saw the Sterbunstande G drawn in Nick's blood on the brick wall.

Hank's muffled voice continued on the other end of the phone, having been trying to get Monroe's attention for what felt like ages now.

Remembering the phone in his hand he brought the device to his ear.

"We're too late, they got him"

A/N: Well, I did promise that Monroe would finally make an appearance…but failed to mention the major turning point would also be here, my bad. Review please to find out what happens next!