5 Chapter 5: The Big Bad Wolf (2)

[March 20th, 1996: Minneapolis]

"Boys! Lunch is ready!" A middle-aged woman called out, carefully placing the pot of pasta on the kitchen table. Within moments, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps and turned to see a teenager setting the table.

"Nick? Why did you come down alone? Where's your brother?" questioned Marie as she saw Nick place the cutlery and plates on the table. Nick sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by his aunt's question. "Zane's probably still holed up in his room, as usual," he replied, his tone dripping with frustration. "I swear, he never wants to do anything with the family anymore."

Marie frowned, concern etching her features. She had noticed a change in Zane since long ago, his once vibrant and outgoing personality now replaced with a withdrawn and distant demeanor. She had tried talking to him, but he always brushed her off, claiming he was busy with schoolwork or just needed some alone time.

"Nick, I know your brother has been acting differently lately," Marie said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But we need to be patient with him. Teenagers go through all sorts of changes, and sometimes they just need some space."

Nick huffed, crossing his arms defiantly. "I get it, Aunt Marie, but it's been 2 years. He used to be so fun to be around, and now he's just... gone. It's like he doesn't even care about us anymore!"

Marie's heart ached for both her nephews. She had always been close to them, acting as a second mother since their parents passed away. While Nick seemed to adapt and get better over time, Zane seemed to fall into a pit of depression. She knew that Zane's behavior was more than just typical teenage angst, but she also understood that pushing him too hard could push him further away.

"Nick, I know it's hard, but we have to give Zane the space he needs," Marie said softly. "But that doesn't mean we can't let him know we're here for him. Maybe we can try talking to him again, let him know that we're worried about him and that we love him."

Nick sighed, his anger deflating slightly. "I guess you're right, Aunt Marie. It's just frustrating seeing him like this."

Marie smiled warmly at her nephew, grateful for his understanding. "I know it is, Nick. But we'll get through this together. And who knows, maybe today's lunch will be the start of bringing us all closer again."

As they finished setting the table, Marie couldn't help but think that something else was bothering her nephew, something more…genetic.

'Has he become a Grimm? If he has, then I need to talk to him, else he will self-destruct.' she thought, changing her mind to let him come down himself. She turned towards Nick, who was about to dig into his lunch.

"On second thought, I'll see if he's fine and if he wants to join us for lunch," Marie said, her voice filled with determination. She knew that if Zane had indeed become a Grimm, it was crucial to address the issue as soon as possible.

Leaving Nick at the table, Marie made her way upstairs to Zane's room. She knocked softly on the door, hoping he would be willing to open up to her. After a moment of silence, she heard a muffled response.

"Go away, Aunt Marie. I'm not hungry," Zane's voice came through the door, sounding tired and distant.

Marie took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before responding. "Zane, I know you've been going through a lot lately. Can we please talk? I'm worried about you."

Zane however, felt enraged. Enraged that his aunt wouldn't just take the hint and leave him alone.

"I told you to go away! Just leave me alone!" he yelled through the door, this time, Marie could have swore she heard an animalistic growl accompanied with his harsh words. Marie flinched when she heard his tone of voice, but tried again, determined to get through to her nephew.

"Please Zane, just a few wo-!" But before Marie could complete her sentence, she heard a crash and a bang come within the room, followed by his words that sounded more like a roar from a beast rather than a human.

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND ENGLISH BITCH! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE BEFORE I TEAR YOUR FUCKING THROAT OUT!" he roared as she heard him slam his fist against the door, threatening it to come off its hinges. Even with all the experience she had as a Grimm herself, she still felt a hint of fear when she heard the threat from her nephew. She now understood whatever was happening to him, it wasn't Grimm related. Deciding to give in to her nephew's demands, she backed off for now and decided to leave him alone.

Within his room, Zane leaned against his door, chest heaving with anger and frustration. His hands were clenched into tight fists, his knuckles white with the force. The room in front of him was in a disarray, with broken furniture and shattered glass scattered across the floor.

As he heard his aunt's footsteps walk away from his room, the primal anger in him slowly subsided, replacing it with a deep sorrow. His legs gradually gave away beneath him, making him sink to the floor as he covered his face with his hands, trying to catch the tears that were streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry….I'm so, so sorry." he sobbed, apologizing to no-one as he struggled to contain the mysterious anger that would brew within him whenever he got close to his aunt. He didn't want it to happen, but something threatened to come out whenever she was near, and everytime it did, it was harder to control than the last time.

Zane gradually took his face out of his hands and looked at the mirror across the room, the reflection staring back at him, a face unknown, yet familiar to him. Instead of his warm brown eyes, beastial yellow eyes full of anger stared back and instead of the mischievous smirk he used to have, a mouth full or razor sharp fangs threatened to spill out. In a hushed voice, Zane whispered a prayer, desperately seeking solace in the one person who truly understood him, understood the 'thing' inside him. But deep down, he knew that this person, the only one who could fix him, was unable to help him anymore.

"Please Dad, help me…"

***

[September 11th, 2011: Portland]

As Zane pulled up to the scene, he was met with a chaotic scene. Police cars littered the road as some of them were parked haphazardly, their lights still flashing. Officers in uniform rushed around, taping the area off as people started to come out of their homes, trying to see what was going on.

Zane tried to make his way into the scene, but was stopped by an officer, one that was looking at him caution.

"Sorry, sir, but this area is off-limits," the officer said firmly, holding up his hand to halt Zane's progress. But Zane had no time to waste with the officer and flashed his Interpol badge, making him stiffen up as Zane announced his identity.

"I am Agent Zane Burkhardt of the International Police, the victim is my aunt and the person who made the 911 call was my brother Detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police department. Now I'm sorry officer but I need to get through!" he said before shoving the officer out of the way as he ran into the crime scene.

When he got in, he quickly scanned the area for his brother and when he saw him, he felt a pit forming in his stomach. He saw as Nick and his detective partner walked towards an ambulance where his aunt lay on a stretcher, injuries and bandages littering her face. As Hank was about to say something to Nick, Zane rushed over and assaulted Nick with questions.

"Nick! How is she? Are the injuries fatal?" He bombarded him with questions as he joined him inside the ambulance, the body of their aunt separating them.

"I-I don't know." Nick stuttered, his once cold face cop visage now replaced with a pale face that oozed fear and anxiety. "It just happened so fast. The guy didn't even look human!" he exclaimed, the fear of what he saw reflected off his eyes. Zane was about to ask more questions before a yell grabbed their attention.

"Nick!" Zane turned his head only to see a beautiful woman with medium length brown hair call out to his brother. Before he could even ask who she was, Nick replied to the woman.

"Juliette, I'll be home soon, just don't come out of the house!" his brother warned as the woman nodded and went back into the crowd of police and paramedics. Zane gave a questioning look to his brother, and Nick, having anticipated his question, turned to him and answered.

"She's my girlfriend, we're currently living together." was all he said before remaining silent, his eyes only looking at their injured aunt.

Zane nodded and asked no more as he too looked at their aunt, internally praying that she would be alright.

For the rest of the journey to the hospital, the brothers remained silent, their attention solely focused on their aunt and the machine monitoring her condition. When the ambulance finally arrived at the hospital, the doors swung open swiftly, and doctors and nurses hurriedly whisked Marie away to the Cardiac Care Unit, preparing her for surgery. One of the doctors halted Nick and Zane from following and took a moment to explain the situation.

"She needs immediate surgery. She has multiple lacerations and is losing a significant amount of blood. We will update you as soon as there are any changes," he informed them before joining the medical team in the operating room. As the doctor departed, Zane and Nick found themselves alone in the hospital corridor, overwhelmed with despair. Zane leaned against the wall, massaging his forehead, lost in deep contemplation, while Nick settled into a nearby chair and retrieved a sketchpad, hastily sketching something. After enduring an hour of agonizing silence, Zane decided to break the tension.

"What the hell happened?" he finally uttered, his voice low, but filled with frustration and confusion. Nick looked up from his sketch pad and looked at his brother, his initial fear and anxiety seemed to have faded a little replaced with a little of his initial coldness. After waiting for a minute, he finally answered, his response agitating Zane even more.

"I told you I don't know, this guy came out of nowhere wielding some type of huge blade and attacked us. Aunt Marie pulled out some type of sword, and I shot him dead. Nothing more, nothing less." Nick muttered, his gaze shifting back to the drawing he made. But Zane wasn't having any of that and demanded more answers.

"That's not going to cut it, Nick, give me more details. What did he look like? What was he wearing? Did he have anyone else with-" but before Zane could finish, Nick finally snapped and interrupted his questioning .

"Enough, Zane! I don't have all the answers, okay? I was too busy trying to keep Aunt Marie and myself alive to take note of every little detail about the guy. And why do you even care? You're just an ass- URGH!" Before he could finish, Zane seemed to blur in front of him and pinned him against the wall, his hand wrapped tightly around his neck leaving his feet dangling in the air. Nick looked at his brother and was horrified to see that the once normal brown eyes of his brother shifted into a menacing yellow, one that seemed to be of a predator eyeing his prey.

"Don't try to be annoyed at me, you're the one who let Aunt Marie get hurt in the first place. You're a Grimm for fucks sake, act like one!" Zane was about to say more before he heard footsteps approaching them. He let go of his hold on Nick and watched him fall to the ground, desperately reaching for his throat as he took deep breaths to regain the oxygen he lost. Zane's eyes shifted back to brown and saw a female doctor come out of the operating room.

"Mr. Burkhardt, she's conscious now." she said before she glanced worriedly at Nick's current state. She was about to ask what happened before he rushed past her to check up on Aunt Marie, as well as get away from the monster that was his brother. Zane watched him go, feeling a pang of guilt, before apologizing to the doctor and retrieving the sketchbook he had dropped during their scuffle. As he flipped through the pages, his eyes widened at the drawing he had made. He quickly tucked it into his pocket and followed after Nick.

As he reached the room his aunt was in, he saw that Nick had already taken his place beside her and was gently holding her hand. Marie was also looking at him, relieved that he was ok after the attack they both went through.

Zane wanted to go in as well, but he felt that he didn't have a place beside them after he abandoned them 10 years ago. He didn't deserve his aunt's love for him and it was better that he was left out. Deciding that it's better that he didn't go in, he leaned on the doorway to her room and used his heightened hearing to hear their conversation.

"You saw him didn't you? You saw who Hulda really was." she said, pain evident in her voice from what she had been through but her eyes remained as strong as warriors. Nick was too exhausted to think anymore with all that he experienced today.

"I don't know what I saw, or how you did that. Hell, I even saw Zane turn into some kind of monster! What's going on?" Nick desperately said, his voice seeking for answers.

Marie seemed to be visibly surprised once she learned that Zane was also here, and that he had turned into a monster. But she couldn't let that distract her from what she came to do when she arrived in Portland. Marie continued on, intent on informing the new inheritor of their family's legacy.

"We have the ability to see what no one else can. When they lose control, they can't hide, and we see them for what they really are." Nick tried to interrupt, but Marie was adamant to continue on. "This is no fairytale Nick, the stories are real. What they wrote about really happened. Nick, you are one of the last remaining Grimms in this world." she concluded as she tightened the grip around her nephew's hands. Zane saw how Nick seemed even more confused as he asked the most important question.

"There's that word again, Zane mentioned it, and now you, what is a Grimm?" he questioned, desperate to seek answers for what was happening in his life.

"There isn't enough time sweetie, everything's in my trailer, there's still a lot that you don't know." Marie was about to continue more before the doctor told them it was time for her to rest and made them exit the room. Zane was about to go as well before he heard Marie's voice calling after him.

"Zane, I don't know what you've been doing these 10 years, but I'm glad you're ok. For so long I wondered where you've gone or what mistake I've made, but seeing you fine gives me so much relief. I know that you and your brother have had your differences, even more now with what you are and what he is, but I beg you, please guide him through this world, there's still so much he needs to learn." Marie said before she closed her eyes, exhaustion already taking her to the dream world.

Zane stood there as he processed his aunt's words. He always thought that she would stop loving him after he made the decision to leave them, but hearing that she still cares for him brought a smile to his face. Turning around, he saw the sleeping form of his aunt and muttered his response under his breath.

"I'll try my best."