Grimm - Nick Burkhardt's Final Battle

Chapter 9 - Walking Trees

"In the morning, glad, I see my foe outstretched beneath the tree."

Nick, Rhett, Eve, Monroe, Rosalee, Adalind, Hank, and Wu talk in the loft bathroom about what Eve, Rhett and Nick have seen in mirrors recently. Adalind suggests that the skull figure is either connected to Eve somehow, or it's after her. Nick says the only other time that he has seen the figure was in a dream. Diana comes out of Nick and Adalind's room and says it wasn't a dream. Rhett whirls around in confusion as Rosalee asks her what it was if it wasn't a dream, but Diana says she doesn't know what to call it. Monroe asks, "Is it something that's not a dream, but it's also not real?" Diana tells him it's not real yet, and when Nick asks if she knows where this thing is going to happen, Diana says, "In the other place, through the hole in the mirror." "Hole in the mirror?" Rhett asks.

Ralph Richardson and Devin "Dev" drive through the forest, drinking beer and looking for deer to poach. They come across a deer and Dev shoots it. He gets out of the truck to track the deer while Ralph gets more beer. Dev comes across the deer's body and pokes it with his gun to make sure it is dead. He then sets his gun and lantern down to take out a knife. Suddenly, leaves start rustling and branches start crackling. Dev looks around as vines approach him and wrap around his ankles, pull his feet out from under him, and drag him away. Ralph calls for Dev and hears Dev shout his name in a panic. Ralph thinks Dev is joking around at first, but he soon finds Dev nearby on the ground, wrapped in vines. He tries freeing Dev and asks him what's going on. Suddenly, a vine shoots through Dev's chest, killing him, splattering blood all over Ralph's shirt. A Kinoshimobe then pulls Dev closer to it with vines and lifts him off the ground. It wraps its arms around Dev, while also wrapping him up with more vines. Ralph tries shooting the Kinoshimobe, but he inadvertently shoots Dev in the head instead killing him. Ralph then drops his gun and sprints back towards the truck. He trips and falls but quickly gets back up and gets into the truck. He speeds away, but he is so preoccupied with looking behind him for any sign of the Kinoshimobe that he crashes into a tree.

Nick lets Adalind know he is ready to shave, so she meets him in the bathroom, where the mirror is covered. Adalind asks Nick how he got the skull figure to go away and he says it just went away after it saw both him and Rhett. He tells Adalind, "I think it knows both Rhett and I are Grimms, but this skull thing is connected to Eve in some way. Maybe because she's a Hexenbiest, which is why I'm worried about you." Adalind partially uncovers the mirror and tells Nick to go for it. He squirts shaving cream into his hand and Adalind asks, "What if this thing isn't afraid of Grimms?" She then says she likes him with stubble and he agrees, so Adalind recovers the mirror. Nick gets a call from Wu, who tells him about Ralph saying he saw a monster in the forest. Wu then tells Nick where to meet.

Nick and Hank meet with Wu in the forest. They look inside the truck, where they see lots of beer cans and rifle ammo. They go talk to Ralph, who tells them what he saw and about Dev being killed. He leads them to the deer's body and Dev's rifle. Hank asks if Dev shot the deer and Ralph says he doesn't know. Wu says, "Oh, so nobody ever informed you that hunting at night with a spotlight is poaching." Ralph then leads the others to where he last saw Dev and tells them what happened. Hank asks if he knows where Dev's body is and Ralph says this was where he last saw it. Nick, Hank, and Wu gather together to discuss what to do next. Nick says, "Get CSU out here, sweep the area. Take the rifles as evidence. See if they were fired." Hank says they should also get dogs to look for a body.

Monroe, Rosalee, Rhett and Eve arrive at the spice shop. Eve says she wants to see the mirror and Rosalee tells her not to do so alone. Rosalee unlocks the drawer with the mirror and opens it while Monroe holds a large hammer. Eve tells them, "I broke this mirror. And it shattered into pieces, and the pieces all came back together." Rosalee tells her it isn't a magic mirror and it has been in her family since she can remember. They all look at the dried up blood covering the mirror. Eve flips the mirror over and blood suddenly starts dripping from it. She flips the mirror back and it is now covered in wet blood. Monroe says, "Okay, that's enough of that." He then locks the mirror back in the drawer. Monroe says they need to figure out what is going on with the "other place" and Eve states the only way to find out may be to go there. Rhett, Rosalee and Monroe all give her 'are you crazy' looks.

Nick and Hank look up information about Dev and Ralph as well as information about their rifles. Both men have records for various crimes. Hank says both rifles were fired once each most likely, and Nick says the deer was hit by one of the bullets. Hank notes that Ralph wasn't hit, so one bullet is left unaccounted for. Wu walks up and informs Nick and Hank that three other people in the last five years have gone missing in the general area that Dev went missing, and no bodies have been recovered. Wu says, "Usually people that go missing in the wild are hikers, mountain bikers, joggers, but these three were not." Nick states that Dev and Ralph were poaching and he tells Wu to try to figure out what the other three people who went missing were doing.

Nick and Hank interrogate Ralph regarding whether he is the real killer or not, but Ralph sticks to his original story. Wu then opens the door and Nick and Hank meet him outside the room. Wu says that lab results came back on Ralph's jacket and large amounts of chlorophyll were found. He tells Nick and Hank, "Lab tech said it was in a concentration that doesn't exist in nature. One sample from Ralph's jacket had the same amount of chlorophyll usually found in a tree." Nick suggests checking the books to see if there is anything similar to Ralph's description.

Renard goes to his office as Dasha Karpushin tries to start a video chat with him. He answers the call and Dasha tells him, "So your daughter has drawn a very unusual combination of symbols. Some ancient, some unknown to me, which suggests that they are coming from her own imagination." Renard proceeds to tell her how one of his detective's son also can see them. She then says she wonders how both a young girl and boy knows such ancient symbols in the first place. She asks if there is more she needs to know about Diana's mother and the boy's father and Renard tells her that Adalind the mother is a Hexenbiest and the boy's father is a Grimm. Dasha then says that he should find out more about the tunnel in which Diana and the boy saw the symbols.

Nick and Hank go to the spice shop to try to figure out what could have killed Dev. Hank finds info on the Kinoshimobe, finding out that there is insufficient information about the creature and that it may not have a human form. Rosalee asks whether there is a law that allows for someone to defend their home by killing another person when that person is destroying where the defendant lives. Monroe then asks, "What if it's, like, a deep, biological drive? That would be like blaming a spider for killing a fly."

Patty Vetvark of G&K Waste Solutions starts dumping toxic waste in the middle of the forest. She sets up a lawn chair, smokes, and waits for the process to finish.

Wu updates Nick and Hank on the info he found. He tells them he went back 20 years and there have been at least 10 disappearances in the area, all within the last five years. Wu says all the people who disappeared had records and were "punished or fined for crimes against nature." Nick says they need to go back to the forest first thing in the morning.

In the night, the Kinoshimobe awakens. The leaves are blown around as Patty sleeps in her chair. She jolts awake and looks around. Vines start wrapping up her legs before wrapping around her arms and torso. A vine then pierces the back of Patty's head, coming out of her mouth, and kills her. Patty is dragged away by the Kinoshimobe up to a Jubokko tree. The Kinoshimobe gets on its knees, raising its hands slightly, and looks up. More vines appear and wrap around Patty's body. Her body is then dragged into the tree as the Kinoshimobe lets out a reverential, deep creaking moan.

Nick, Hank, and Wu go into the forest. The three of them spread out and start looking around, seeing various animals. Wu sees Patty's truck in the distance and goes to check it out while Nick comes across the tree that the Kinoshimobe took Patty's body to, and he is curious about it. Wu finds Patty's bloody chair and smells the toxic waste. He uses his radio to report what he found to Nick and Hank. Nick and Hank meet with Wu at the truck and Wu takes a picture of the license plate.

Nick, Hank, and Wu find information on Patty at the precinct after running the truck's plates. Hank says she has been fined seven times for illegal dumping of toxic waste around the state. Wu then reads off some of the locations where the other people went missing and Nick marks the locations on a map. Nick connects the points, forming a circle, and says they need to find out what is in the middle.

Nick, Hank, and Wu go back to the forest with the map. They walk through the forest and end up at the Jubokko tree. Nick tells the others this is where he was earlier. Nick says he has a weird feeling about the tree and Hank agrees. Nick finds some blood by the tree and Hank finds what appears to be a person's face in the tree's bark. Nick notes the person looks like they're screaming and Wu says he now has a weird feeling too. They then notice and realize there are other faces all over the tree.

Nick, Hank, and Wu go show pictures to Monroe and Rosalee of what they saw in the forest. Rosalee recognizes the tree and says it's like a normal tree except that it survives on human blood. Wu pulls up some of the images of the faces in the tree compared to mugshots of people who disappeared in the area, including Dev and Patty. Nick suggests that the Kinoshimobe and Jubokko are working together in a symbiotic relationship. Rosalee then says in order to find the Kinoshimobe, they may have to cause some environmental damage. Wu and Monroe both say they're not comfortable doing that and Nick suggests making it appear like they are causing harm. Rosalee suggests using Vle di Bouyi, which smells bad and only affects reptilian Wesen, giving them a rash. Monroe and Rosalee prepare to start making the Vle di Bouyi, while Nick, Hank, and Wu get some sharp weapons from the chest in the basement.

Nick, Hank, Wu, and Monroe drive to the Jubokko. Everyone gets a jerrycan containing Vle di Bouyi out of the back of Nick's truck and starts pouring it on the ground near the tree. After emptying the jerrycans, Nick, Hank, and Monroe get their weapons out of the truck. Hank also grabs his shotgun, saying, "Just in case."

Nick, Hank, Wu, and Monroe continue to wait around after it gets dark. Monroe suggests that they may be underestimating the Kinoshimobe and Nick suggests that the Vle di Bouyi isn't toxic enough, so Monroe calls Rosalee to see if she can spice it up. Rosalee says adding turpentine might work, so she tells them she'll bring it out to them if they send her directions. Nick, Hank, and Monroe then discuss whether killing the Kinoshimobe is the the right thing to do when it's trying to protect the forest.

Rosalee makes her way to the others in the forest and gets a call from Monroe to check to see where she is. Rosalee tells him she is getting close, as her car clunks. Rosalee's car leaks oil as she drives along the road.

Nick, Hank, Monroe, and Wu wait around for Rosalee, discussing the pained expressions on the faces in the tree.

Rosalee's car breaks down, and when she gets out, she sees that oil has been leaking. She gets another call from Monroe asking where she is and she tells him about the leaking oil, which alarms him. The Kinoshimobe stands up a few feet behind Rosalee. Monroe says he'll come to her as Rosalee turns around and sees the Kinoshimobe. She screams and starts running. Monroe panics when he hears her scream and he and the other three run in her direction. Nick pauses and listens, using his enhanced hearing to detect Rosalee just before she hides behind a tree. Rosalee hears Monroe calling for her and directs him to her location. Rosalee says she doesn't know where the Kinoshimobe is, so they all return to Nick's truck. As Rosalee looks at the Jubokko, vines wrap around her feet and pull her feet out from under her, but Monroe catches her. Nick and Wu start chopping the vines while Hank hits the vines with his shotgun. Rosalee gets free as the Kinoshimobe approaches. Nick tries to talk with it, but it tries to shoot vines at him, and he uses his labrys to deflect them. Suddenly, vines start wrapping up everyone's body except for Nick. Wu and Nick try to chop the vines, but the vines quickly make it to everyone's throats. The Kinoshimobe approaches Nick, but Nick quickly use his labrys and hits the Kinoshimobe in the chest, and the wound profusely bleeds chlorophyll. Everyone is freed from the vines as the Kinoshimobe collapses to the ground. The Jubokko then uses vines to pull the Kinoshimobe inside it. The gang looks closer and sees the face of the Kinoshimobe on the tree. They decide they've done all they can, so they quickly head to the truck. As they leave, the eyes of the Kinoshimobe's face in the tree open and it watches the truck drive away.

Rhett joins everyone as Nick adds new information to a Grimm diary regarding the Kinoshimobe and Jubokko, with the help of Hank, Wu, Monroe, and Rosalee. Monroe suggests that perhaps the Jubokko actually was protecting the Kinoshimobe from them. Nick claims he's tired and everyone starts leaving. Monroe asks if Wu is still going to sleep like a baby tonight, and Wu picks up a machete and tells him, "Yep, I'm sleeping with this," and leaves.

Monroe gets into bed with Rosalee, and they notice what resembles a face in their wood ceiling. Monroe says their ceiling is just pine, but then suggests they paint their ceiling and Rosalee agrees.

Nick and Rhett arrive back at the loft and get around for bed. "Hey dad?" "Yeah Rhett?" "I was wondering if you can let me continue going with you on cases, because you've left me behind on multiple." Nick walks over and kneels in front of Rhett grabbing his shoulders. "Rhett, listen to me. I'd love to have you on every case I work, but I can't." Rhett gets a disappointed look on his face, "Why not?" "It's still too dangerous for you right now. You're still pretty young, and most wesen would be happy to just kill you because you're like me. If they were to pick either you or me to fight, they'd choose you because you're younger and inexperienced in fighting, unlike me. That why I'm not ready for you to start that yet. Maybe when you're in high school we can have a few hunts sound good?" Rhett nods in understanding and they go to their rooms and fall asleep.