Butterfly Wings

By Moonbeam

The bright flash of light was immediately followed by a deep boom. It echoed through his bones like the clap of nearby thunder after a lightning strike. Which would not have been unusual for springtime in Portland, if only it didn't seem to occur in the middle of the precinct on what had otherwise been a rare sunny day.

Eyes still watering from the unexpected sensory assault, Nick quickly joined the rest of his colleagues in turning to the source of the blast. Officers all over the bullpen had drawn their weapons on reflex and were aiming at the center of the room. Aiming at two people who hadn't been noticed there before. Thankfully, no one fired. Most even dropped and holstered their guns once they saw who stood there and returned to their business when no threat revealed itself.

They were just kids.

A boy and a girl. The girl was maybe just on the cusp of her teenage years, sunny blonde hair pulled back with flower barrettes and clad in a shiny, sparkly outfit. The light in the room reflected off her clothes in a strange way to look as if her eyes briefly glowed the same bright purple as her skirt. The boy beside her was a pre-teen a few years younger, still round-cheeked with baby fat and dressed much more casually. He was small, but his shoulders were already beginning to broaden enough to indicate a future solid if compact frame.

"Ha, it worked!"

The boy was the first person to speak, ignoring the few startled cops still staring at him while he looked excitedly about the room. He slapped lightly at the older girl, who rebuffed him with the automatic huff and grimace of having done so many times before. Siblings, maybe? They didn't really look much alike, her with classic blonde hair and blue eyes to his dark hair and hazel eyes. But there was something in the shape of their faces, the tilt of their mouths that hinted at a familial relationship.

"Of course it worked, I know what I'm doing." The girl replied, looking up as the Captain stepped out of his office to see what was going on. She smiled brightly at the man. "Hi, daddy!"

Renard blinked.

The girl skipped the few steps over and promptly threw her arms around the Captain's waist. She hugged him tight for a second then grabbed his hand to tug him over to the boy.

Okay, well. Nick hadn't known the Captain had any children but then he also didn't know much about the man's personal life. Although the Captain himself looked a bit surprised, so maybe…?

"Daddy, this is Kelly. He's my brother," she introduced with a beaming grin, then casually dropped a bombshell, "... with our other dad, Nick!"

For some reason, Nick was one of the few people still paying attention to the appearance of the children. Even Hank had lost interest and gone back to his paperwork. Nick couldn't look away, his new instincts suspicious of the odd circumstances of their arrival. As such, it took a moment for the implications of that quietly shocking statement to sink in.

Uh, what?

The boy, Kelly? rolled his eyes. "Yeah, hi, nice to meet you, uncle Sean. We need to talk. Who knows how much time we have before dad finds out we're gone and there's a lot we've got to get straight." He then looked right over at Nick, confident he'd be listened to, and beckoned him to join the group.

Nick found himself being ushered inside Renard's office and pushed into a seat without really knowing how. The girl, still grinning and holding the stunned Captain's hand, pulled him in too and gleefully shut the door on the rest of the precinct.

Moments passed as everyone just stared at each other.

The boy's serious facade cracked as he suddenly shook his head with a rueful grin that looked vaguely familiar. "Man, dad, you look so different I almost didn't recognize you!" He reached out and ruffled Nick's floppy hair. "It's so weird!"

For him too, Nick thought, not sure how to react to that. His mind had gone blank.

"Kelly!"

"Right, right… on the clock here. So, um." He adopted a serious demeanor, a look that was kind of adorable and yet also impressive on someone who was only about 10 years old. "Yeah so, my name is Kelly Schade-Burkhardt and this is my half-sister Diana Schade-Renard. We're your children. From the future."

Diana nodded. "We're here to make you two get along so that most of the bad stuff that happened doesn't anymore."

What. No, really, what?

"What?" Captain Renard managed.

Good, at least one of them could say something. Nick's brain was still trying to reboot from the blue screen of death it'd crashed into at hearing himself called a dad. He was pretty sure he didn't have any kids. The closest he'd gotten was that one brief pregnancy scare with Juliette a few months ago, but nothing had come of it except spurring him into the idea of proposing marriage. Which he was admittedly still working up himself to do. He'd bought the ring, even! He was just waiting for the right time.

Wait. Juliette's last name was Silverton. But the kids didn't say that was their name, they said something else. Schade-Burkhardt? Schade? Who did he know with that name? Who was their mother? And how was the Captain involved? Nick was not a cheater, loyalty was in his blood and he was as monogamous as it got. How could he share children with another man, let alone his boss? He couldn't even begin to conceive of the circumstances.

More importantly, where's Juliette in all this?

No, this was ridiculous. It had to be some kind of joke, a scam or something. These kids couldn't honestly believe they'd get away with just appearing in a flash of light and claiming they were his children from the future. Time travel wasn't real!

The girl, Diana, continued talking right through Nick's internal freak-out.

"Because dad's a Grimm and you, daddy, are a half-zauberbiest Royal and things always work out so much better for everyone when you aren't fighting each other." She just baldly stated, throwing those truths out there without any hesitation.

Wait, what?

"Wait, what?" Nick blurted, looking between the kids and the frozen shock on his boss's face. "He's a what…? How do you know I'm a Grimm, I only found out what that is a few weeks ago!"

"Duh, dad, we've always known. We grew up with you, remember."

"Daddy is a half-zauberbiest, that's like the boy version of hexenbiests like me and mom. That part's okay, because it comes from grandmother Elizabeth and she's awesome! The trouble is that he's also half-Royal and they pretty much suck 'cause they just want to own and control everything."

"Mom calls them power hungry bastards," Kelly added, while Renard collapsed into his chair like his strings had been cut. His face rippled. Nick caught a momentary glimpse of desiccated flesh at the corner of his mouth before he regained control of himself.

Nick stared at his Captain like he'd never seen him before. "You're Wesen? Did you know about me?"

Kelly snorted. "Course he did. Who'd you think sent mom to kill your aunt Marie in the hospital?"

There was a lot to unpack in that sentence. Nick really needed a chance to process all this. But it didn't look like he'd be getting it any time soon, so he just started filing details away and decided to treat this entire surreal experience like a (very weird) case. The compartmentalization would help him roll with the punches.

"Adalind?" Renard was asking the kids, inadvertently confirming he did indeed know the woman who tried to poison aunt Marie. Had possibly even sent her to do so? Why? She was already dying of cancer, for god's sake!

"Adalind Schade is your mother?"

Adalind Schade. That was the blonde woman's name? The woman who'd tried to kill his dying aunt in her hospital bed. The same woman he'd seen outside the jewelry store he'd just bought an engagement ring for Juliette at a few weeks ago. The woman whose face had changed when he'd looked at her, the first Wesen he'd ever seen.

The woman he'd eventually have a son with?

None of this made sense!

Knocking at the closed office door interrupted any further conversation. Sergeant Wu poked his head in. He looked almost as perturbed as Nick felt.

"Uh, sorry sir… but there's some kids here asking for Nick?"

There were more?!

A little dark-haired girl, at least a couple of years younger than the boy named Kelly (after his mother?) squeezed her way past Wu into the room.

"Uncle Nick!"

Oh thank god. Not another one claiming to be his!

The little girl, 7 or 8 years old he guessed, bypassed the two older children to sit right in Nick's lap. His arms went around her automatically as she climbed on.

"Uncle Nick, there was a bright light and a loud noise and then we were in the hallway at your police station. Uncle Wu found us, but he didn't know who we are. He brought us to you though," she reported, quickly and concisely. "What happened? Your hair's so long! It looks funny!"

"Fee," the boy exclaimed, then turned and smacked his sister. "Diana, you brought the triplets?"

"Not on purpose! They must have been eavesdropping from the hall. I told you the spell would take anyone nearby!"

Spell? And, triplets?

Sure enough, two more dark-haired boys were pushed into the office before Wu hastily shut the door with a muttered, "I don't wanna know."

"Dude," said one of the new boys, "is this really, like, the past? That's so cool!"

"Are we gonna meet our mom and dad, too?"

"No, you idiots," Kelly said. "Your mom hasn't even moved to town yet. My dad just met your dad!"

He did? Wonder who that was. It'd been an eventful few weeks since finding out about the Grimm thing.

Diana's eyes flared a glowing bright purple. Not a trick of the light earlier then. Captain Renard startled, staring hard at the girl claiming to be his daughter with sudden recognition in his eyes. Nick caught it, but was distracted when the twin boys flinched like they'd been invisibly poked.

"Yeah, that's why we didn't invite you. You're not supposed to be here!"

"I don't think any of us are supposed to be here," the girl in his lap said. "Aunt Adalind is gonna be mad when she finds out you were messing with her mother's spell books, Diana."

Kelly groaned. "Forget our mom, now it's your mom we have to worry about. She's way scarier!"

The triplets all nodded, fully in agreement.

"At least uncle Monroe will think it's cool." Diana shrugged, and it was Nick's turn to startle at the familiar name of his tentative new friend. The blutbad, while initially reluctant to hang out with a Grimm, was also his best guide to this newly discovered world of Wesen. Nick had no idea how he'd have managed without the gentle wolf-like man's gamely offered help. "He loves this kind of thing, he'd see that us traveling back in time to talk to our parents was a great idea."

"What did you wanna talk to them about?" one of the boys asked, moving over to hop up and sit on the Captain's desk in front of Nick.

Renard spared a brief glare at him, but he was having trouble taking his eyes off his supposed daughter. Nick didn't blame him. He kept being drawn back to looking at Kelly, seeing more and more similarities in his features. His eyes, especially, were like looking into a mirror.

As absurd as it was, Nick was beginning to believe the time travel story may not be as impossible as he'd thought.

Diana nodded sharply. "Right, that's why we're here. To stop daddy from being stupid and getting him and dad to work together from the beginning."

"Oh, you mean like not trying to steal the Grimm treasure keys?"

Renard's jaw dropped. "You know about the keys?"

Nick understood they were talking about the weird old key his aunt gave him before she died. He'd even figured out about the map on its sides, but he didn't know what else they were talking about. A Grimm treasure?

All the kids nodded. One of the twin boys, or triplets he guessed considering the little girl curled up on his lap, explained. "Our dad helped uncle Nick find the treasure the Grimm knights buried in the Crusade. It's one of our favorite stories!"

"Yeah," Kelly agreed, "I was just a baby at the time. But uncle Monroe loves telling that story. The glowing skulls are pretty cool, I guess."

Diana patted her father's hand, consoling him before he could get too excited. "The keys won't help you, daddy. Or any of the Royals. It was seven Grimm knights who hid the treasure so only a Grimm could find it. And more importantly, only a Grimm can use it."

"Safely, she means. Because the bad guy would have used it to destroy the world. And make Diana his bride, which is creepy because she was like six at the time."

Renard did not look consoled by that news at all. Neither was Nick, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Though apparently he will in the future? Whatever, time travel was too confusing to think about. Anyway, something else was bugging him.

"You mentioned the Royals? And earlier said Renard was half one, but who are they?"

"The Royals are daddy's father's side of the family. I met the King once when I was little. He was nice enough to me, but most of daddy's cousins are really bad. They want to rule the Wesen world, and they used to use Grimms to do it. They lost a lot of their power over the centuries, and now only have the Verrat (who are mostly dumb hundjagers) to order around. They wanted the keys because they thought the treasure would give them back their power. Daddy tried to steal yours because he wanted to impress them."

Kelly laughed. "Which is really stupid because you end up killing, what, over half of the princes? It's basically because of you that he's even in the running to become the next King."

Nick raised an eyebrow at his scowling Captain. "You're a prince?"

"Yep," Diana beamed, "and I'm a real princess. Daddy says I'm probably going to be Queen one day too!"

"And that's one of the reasons why you have to work together. Uncle Sean would never be able to get so close to the throne if dad weren't taking out his competition. But the Royals are only after dad because he's a powerful Grimm who's not under their control. You guys can help protect each other. That way you both win!"

"That would really help with Wesen problems like Black Claw too," the little girl in his lap added.

He should really at least learn the triplets' names. Monroe would definitely want to know when he told him all about this weird meeting later. They'd mentioned something about their mother not having moved here yet? He couldn't quite remember, but figured whoever she was must be pretty amazing because her kids were taking being accidentally pulled to the past really well. A good sign. Monroe deserved someone wonderful.

Nick hadn't known Monroe long, but he already counted him as a good friend. Even he could admit being his friend was a challenge. Monroe was great though, always willing to help out or welcome Nick in with a beer when he needed someone to talk to. He honestly didn't think he'd have made it to this point if he didn't have Monroe to call on. It was gratifying to know they'd still be friends in the future.

"Yeah, totally, but I think the bigger issue is going to be dealing with mom and," Kelly performed exaggerated finger quotes, "Juliette."

"Oh yeah, that will be weird."

"Tell me about it," Kelly groused. "My entire existence depends on it."

Well, since they'd brought the subject up…

"That's something I want to ask about since you introduced yourself as Schade-Burkhardt. I've been with Juliette for years. I'm planning to ask her to marry me, but it sounds like maybe that doesn't go well since she's not your mother. Which is something else you need to explain, but first… What happens with Juliette? Is she okay?"

That was his worst fear, that she'd be hurt because of his Grimm nature. He supposed she could have left him if she couldn't handle his life anymore, or maybe even he left her like his aunt had advised. Although he couldn't really see himself just abandoning her. If it was for Juliette's safety though...

"Yes-"

"Sort of-"

"Not exactly-"

"It's complicated," Kelly cut in, stopping the others from talking over each other and blurting anything else out.

Not a chance he was letting them get away with that. "Uncomplicate it."

The response he got to his demand was less than encouraging. Kelly's nose scrunched up, mouth dropping open as he obviously scrambled for something to say. The little girl in Nick's lap started giggling, which set off the other kids until they were all laughing at who knows what.

Nick exchanged a confused glance with Renard, feeling a reluctant kinship with him for the first time.

As the giggling died down, one of the younger boys sitting on the Captain's desk raised his hand. "Oooh, let me try!" He hooked his thumb behind him at the Captain. "He ordered aunt Adalind to put a love spell on uncle Hank, so you took her hexenbiest powers away."

"Blood of the Grimm," the girl on his lap whispered, whatever that meant.

"And then he and her mother kicked her out because she wasn't a witch anymore, so she got revenge by putting Juliette in a magic coma that only a prince's kiss could wake her from."

"He did and she woke up, but Juliette didn't remember uncle Nick anymore. Plus the kiss caused her and Sean to fall madly in fake love, totally obsessed with each other. They would have eventually killed each other if our mom hadn't figured out how to cure them." The other twin boy said.

"And then my mommy went off to work for the Royals and got her powers back while pregnant with me." Diana said. "But she had to escape because they were gonna kill her and steal me."

"Aunt Trubel's old boss Meisner and the Resistance got them away from the Royals. Diana was born in the middle of the woods and Kelly's grandma rescued them and brought them home to uncle Nick."

Kelly sighed, then waggled his hands dramatically as he continued the story. "Then dad, uncle Monroe, uncle Hank, grandma Kelly and uncle Sean all pretended to steal baby Diana away from both her mom and Prince Victor so grandma Kelly could raise her in secret."

"Uncle Nick met aunt Trubel and our parents got married," the little girl on his lap joined in with her brothers as the triplets quickly took turns.

"Aunt Adalind thought the Royals had Diana, so when they told her the only way she'd get her daughter back was to take away uncle Nick's Grimm powers, she figured out how." One boy said.

"She used a spell to look like Juliette and that's when she got pregnant with uncle Nick's baby, Kelly," the other boy added.

"But to save our parents from the Wesenrein, uncle Nick had to become a Grimm again. So Diana's grandmother Elizabeth helped Juliette use the same spell to turn into Adalind to reverse what happened. But there's a twist! Powerful spells like that always have side effects."

"Yeah, like Juliette becoming a hexenbiest and going crazy psycho on everyone!"

Nick sat in stunned silence throughout the entire rapid fire recitation from the triplets. It was just too much. He lost his powers and Juliette became a Wesen helping him get them back? Grandma Kelly? Aunt Trouble? And somewhere in there something happened with Adalind in order to make a baby with her.

Renard sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk so he could prop his chin up in his hand. "I see why you said it was complicated."

Really? Nick shot him an unamused scowl at the droll comment and got a quirked eyebrow in response.

Nick rolled his eyes. Alright fine. Whatever. His life is (will be?) a soap opera of melodrama.

"Oh, we're not even done yet!" His son interjected, smiling brightly at the Captain. "We haven't even gotten to the part where you joined a Wesen terrorist organization-"

"-stole aunt Adalind and her kids for your fake family when you ran for mayor-"

"-declared a city wide manhunt and tried to kill uncle Nick-"

"-and then got your ass kicked by uncle Nick while he looked like you to fix your mistakes."

And suddenly Nick's life wasn't the only one looking like a bad telenovela. He smirked at his boss, feeling a bit better about himself.

"So you can see why we came," Kelly concluded. "Whenever you guys fight, things get really bad. But when you work together, you can do a lot of good."

"Yeah, like the time uncle Nick got turned into a zombie!"

"Felix!" Kenny snapped. "You're not supposed to tell them everything, just the things we want changed."

Nick frowned. "You want me to be turned into a zombie?"

"It's okay, you get changed back. Mom makes a cure." Felix reassured him.

His brother continued, "but you need to become a zombie because it gives you extra powers."

"Extra powers?" Renard asked.

"I don't even really know what power I do have," Nick admitted, "let alone extras."

The little girl on his lap piped up excitedly. "Oh, I know this one! Grimms get lots of different powers because of who they fight. Aunt Trubel can feel the air moving when you're close because of the time she got hunted by the ninja mantis Wesen in Japan."

"Grimms adapt really well." Kelly said, giving him a nod.

"Yeah, like how you can hear really good because of that time you got blinded. And hold your breath for like ten minutes because of being a zombie. Why wouldn't you want that, uncle Nick? It's awesome!"

Nick must have looked as incredulous as he felt. Kelly sighed and left his sister's side to come sit on the empty chair beside him.

"Okay dad, this is how you explained it to me. So all Grimms have the basic package, right? They are stronger, faster, can heal quickly, and are good fighters. Well, that's because it's what they need to survive. You didn't start out that way, those are skills that developed as you go. But you have to live through a fight where you need them first. Then you just learn and adapt really easily. All the weapons and martial arts you can do? You never really got taught how, you just sort of instinctively figure it out because if you don't, you could die."

Nick shot a look at his boss. "Did you know about this stuff?"

"Not exactly," Renard said. "I knew the traits about Grimms which make them so deadly, just not how you acquire them. The Royal families believe it to be innate."

Kelly shook his head. "Not all Grimms have the same skills. I mean, they do share a bunch and they all tend to be pretty good artists, but the ways they fight and what powers they get are all different because they face different Wesen. Training just hones whatever skills they develop from the encounter. It's the rapid ability to adapt that makes them special. If they survive whatever force the Wesen throw at them, then they get a new power for life."

"Right, but of course there's a downside too."

Everyone looked over at Diana. The cheerful girl had a tiny moue on her mouth, unusually serious. "It means you don't react the same way as other people, human or Wesen, would to some things. When I was little, I had to save you after you got stuck looking like my daddy. The potion was supposed to wear off when you finished, but it didn't because you're a Grimm."

"Yeah. The zombie thing takes days for most people, but you changed in a few hours. You also couldn't be controlled and were way stronger, so you were a lot more dangerous than anyone else too."

"That's… unbelievable." Nick slouched in his chair. This was all too much. "This is crazy! You get that, right, how insane this sounds?"

Kelly shrugged. "Maybe, but it's true. It's our life, dad. It's your life! And that's why Diana and I wanted to go back to the past. There's so much you have to go through, so many things that happen, good and bad. But they are always better when you have help. Uncle Monroe and aunt Rosalee do a lot, and Hank and Wu try to back you up, but sometimes you need uncle Sean. Except some other times he was the reason bad things happened, because he didn't know he needs your help too."

Diana looked urgently at her father. "You shouldn't fight with Nick, daddy. Working against him just makes everything worse. You keep saying you regret it, that you want Nick to trust you. This is your chance! The Royals aren't good to you. They don't love you like we do. I came back to help you, daddy!"

Renard looked as overwhelmed as Nick felt, but he hugged his daughter warmly enough when she threw herself into his arms.

"Alright, Diana, it's okay. I understand. Thank you for telling me."

Diana sniffled, rubbing her nose against his shoulder. "You have to try, daddy."

"You'll do better with dad's help too, uncle Sean. Sure, you won't become mayor yourself or whatever, but you know them. Mom says it's better that way, to have the influence of power rather than be ruled by it. Right now you're just the captain of a single precinct but eventually you'll be the chief. All the police will follow your orders, human and Wesen."

Kelly smiled at his sister and her not-yet father. "You'll be happy, too, you know. You're a good dad, Diana loves you. You also try to be good to me, even though you don't have to. Mom and dad really do end up helping you a lot. You'll be able to succeed so much better than on your own. You need friends you can trust too."

"Black Claw definitely aren't your friends," one of the triplet boys added, cutting in.

Kelly grimaced. "Yeah, they suck… and they are so hard to get rid of! It's been years since the zauberbiest who started them was killed and they still keep getting followers."

"Followers of what?" Nick asked the obvious question. "What's Black Claw?"

"A Wesen First movement to reveal themselves to the Kehrseite and take over the world."

Renard went pale, then shook his head sharply. "No. That's… suicidally ridiculous. I would never go along with that."

Diana patted his arm in compassion. "You did though. You weren't a true believer at first, you just joined 'cause they promised to make you mayor. But eventually even you fell for the idea and thought it was time Wesen stopped hiding. That's why people keep falling for it, keep joining up. There's a lot of resentment, especially in younger Wesen. They think they are better than regular humans, that they should be gods like in the ancient days. They don't understand that power like that scares people, and scared people are dangerous and unpredictable."

"There are also a lot more Kehrseite people than Wesen in the world. And they have guns and bombs and armies and stuff. Wesen can't win a fight like that."

Nick's mind reeled from the implications. It would be war. All out war. The world would never be the same.

Kelly stood up, throwing his hands in the air. "And it was all fake too!" he said in exasperation. "The full-blooded zauberbiest who started the movement didn't even care about the Kehrseite world. He killed all those people and nearly started a war just for money and power. He wasn't trying to help anybody but himself."

"What's his name?" Renard asked. "Maybe we can stop him if he hasn't started yet. Prevent Black Claw from ever forming."

Kelly and Diana both smiled. "Exactly! That's why we came back. With you two working together, you can stop a lot of bad things from happening. Make the world a better place."

"I think you kids have already done that."

Standing in the doorway was a new person. This man was older, rougher. He had more lines in his face, shorter hair and a five o'clock shadow. In his hand was a tall wooden staff. He looked serious and grim, strange but familiar all the same.

The man was clearly Nick Burkhardt.

The Nick of this time sucked in his breath at the intimidating sight of his older self. Across the desk, Renard leaned backward as he woged involuntarily.

"Dad!" Kelly exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

Future Nick let himself fully into the office, then leaned back against the closed door. "Stopping you from changing the past too much."

"It worked?" one twin asked in excitement.

"But if the future changed, how do you know?" asked the other.

Future Nick lightly thumped his staff. "I remember both timelines. They way things used to be, and the way things are now. The Staff showed me where, when, you are."

He looked sternly at the children. "It was very dangerous what you did. The spell alone could have killed you, Diana. Or you could have erased yourselves out of existence if you changed the wrong thing. You're lucky that everything worked out."

"It wasn't luck," Diana sulked, crossing her arms.

"No. It wasn't." Future Nick looked meaningfully at the length of wood in his hand.

"Are you kidding me?! The Staff wanted us to do this?"

Diana hummed, thoughtful. "That spell was surprisingly easy to find, you know."

"Diana!" Kelly groaned, dropping back into the empty seat. He looked up at his father. "Did we at least fix the future?"

Future Nick nodded, taking a step forward to lay a hand on his son's shoulder. "Juliette never becomes Eve, the Wesen Council still stands, and the rest of the Kehrseite world is happily oblivious to the Wesen among them."

While the kids cheered, Future Nick examined the other men in the room.

"Sean," he said to Renard. There was no deference in his tone for a superior officer, just a sense of assurity in his own standing. The balance of power had shifted. They were equals now. Renard nodded back, message received.

Then Future Nick's gaze swung to his younger self. "Your life will be different from the one I originally led. Better in some ways, not that mine was necessarily bad. You'll have your own challenges to face and it won't always be easy. My best advice? Tell Hank and Wu sooner. They can handle the truth and your, our, greatest strength is our friends. You'll need them all."

He turned to gather the children. "Okay kids, time to go. We've done enough, the rest is up to them. Everyone come get a good grip on the Staff."

The five children jockeyed around until each one had a hand solidly holding the wooden stick. Diana waved a goodbye to her father, while Kelly ensured the three younger triplets were secure.

Gradually, a wind began to build in the locked room.

Just before the wind whipped up too loud, Future Nick called out. "One last thing! A Grausen isn't demons or a curse, it's just a rare parasite. The infected child can be cured."

Nick nodded, committing the words to memory despite not having a clue what they meant.

"Juliette figured it out." Future Nick smiled wryly, and then in a swirl of wind they were gone.

Nick and Renard were alone in the room, a few disturbed papers on the desk the only evidence of what just happened. They looked at each other. Neither knew where to start.

Eventually, the Captain sighed and waved for Nick to retake his seat.

"So it looks like we'll be working close together for the foreseeable future. We should talk, Nick, get our cards on the table."

"Why did you try to kill my aunt?" Nick's first question was a doozy. They needed to clear the air if they were ever going to be able to trust each other. Which they evidently really needed to do.

For the sake of the future of the world, apparently. No pressure there.

"For the key." Renard admitted calmly, with no shame. "Bloody Marie Kessler was a Grimm with a long history of killing Wesen. My family, the Royals, were also well aware she had one of the seven keys. The Royals have three or four others, but they want them all. They sent their own assassins first. I sent Adalind."

"Adalind. The woman who is somehow supposed to be the future mother to both our children." Nick shook his head in disbelief. "How does that even work?"

"I don't know," Renard said. "I don't think I want to know. My relationship with Adalind is strained, since she discovered I was also sleeping with her mother."

"Really." Nick judged him for that one.

Renard shrugged, unrepentant. "If it's supposed to happen, then it will happen regardless of what we do."

"Leave it to fate."

"Yes."

Nick suddenly laughed. The sound was more harsh than amused. "Whatever. You realise that staff is almost certainly the treasure those keys lead to, right?"

"It had occurred to me, yes. The children said only a Grimm could find it."

Nick stared him down. "They also said only a Grimm could use it safely."

"Alright," Renard deferred. "I think we can both agree that the Royal families should never get their hands on a staff that can travel through time."

"Which means either we get to it first," Nick allowed, noting Renard's response to the word 'we'. "Or we hide the keys so well no one can ever find it and the treasure stays a lost mystery for the rest of time."

"Somehow I get the impression that won't be an option." Renard said dryly.

"No, I don't think so either. So," Nick sat back, confident and resolved. "We have an idea of our future goals. Find the keys, retrieve the staff, thwart the Royals, and stop an unknown zauberbiest from starting a Wesen uprising that could lead to war. And somewhere in there have possibly magical children with a hexenbiest who probably hates us both. "

"When you put it like that…" Renard smirked. "How hard can it be?"

"I guess we'll see how strong fate really is."

"Hmm." Renard suddenly smiled, relaxing in his chair.

Nick cocked his head curiously, wanting in on the joke after such serious revelations.

"I am kind of looking forward to the zombie thing though."

Nick's lips quirked up ruefully. "It's Portland. I'm not sure we'll be able to tell the difference."

The end?

Or maybe it's just the beginning.