Chapter Seven: Watts, the Grimmlord

Maria grumbled as she tried in vain to pull off the collar around her neck. She grumbled as she thought of Port's insistence on her training.

"It'll make you stronger, you little weakling." "Once you can run an entire marathon while only breathing out and run another while only breathing in, I will remove that collar." "You cannot train without peril. Swim this shark infested water."

Maria growled as she thought of ways to punish Port, worse even than what she knew Glynda had coming to her. She would make him rue the day she was pushed to her limits.

But… was it truly her limits? She looked down at her hand, flexing her fingers. She couldn't shake the image of her using vines before she lost consciousness. She wasn't sure if it was a hallucination, but she hadn't seen them since. Was it something she had drawn out when her body was pushed to its utmost limit? Or, was it something she had imagined because of her rapidly fading consciousness and that was what her mind rationalized it as? Whatever it was, she needed to focus on completing this next and final challenge.

She wanted to make Glynda proud for some reason she couldn't place her finger on. Sure, she respected the powerful and quite attractive blonde woman, but there was something else she couldn't quite see. A sort of familiarity that she couldn't quite place. Perhaps it was because she had trained Oscar, whose grandfather had fought alongside her grandmother to defeat the ancient mask that had brought Cinder to her Grimm awakening.

Cinder; even when she had shaken off being in her grandmother's shadow, that name awoke a nameless fear in her heart, a creeping feeling as if she were touched to ice water. She had often wondered why her name brought such a feeling. Her grandfather said it was because of the blood that tied them together, her and Summer. The righteous blood within Summer and within Maria yearned to defeat the evil that had awoken in people like Cinder and protect those who would be harmed by it.

But, as she walked to her final challenge, she couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. If she was being honest, she would rather turn tail and run were it not for the rings in her body. Even if her blood was screaming out to destroy this threat before it could take over the world.

"Alright, Port, you rat bastard, I'm ready for your stupid fucking challenge," Maria walked to the arena, a tall tower with thin ropes crisscrossing across it with enormous gaps where the tiny strings weren't. Maria looked up to see a strange sight.

"Port?" She gasped, seeing the man impaled in a gigantic fist. The one whose fist had impaled him stood there, holding him above his head, being none other than Watts, the Grimmlord.

"Watts!" Maria shouted, pointing at him. "You bastard, how dare you attack him before I have the chance for payback?!"

"Well, well," Watts looked down at Maria, throwing Port down to the ground. "It would appear as if you are here as well. I have learned of the location of the Fire Dust Stone of Mistral being here and I am here to retrieve it for Mistress Salem. Leave me be. I've no time to kill you."

"I'll say you've got more time than I do," Maria pointed a finger at him. "I've only got a week before this damnable ring explodes and kills me."

"Do you think I've the time to waste with you?" Watts asked. "I must get this stone to Mistress Salem."

"Well, I won't let you!" Maria leapt up to the platform, overlooking the spike pit that was three hundred feet below, a true training of Aura. Watts simply scoffed, crossing his arms.

"You mock me?" Maria pointed once again. "I'll have you know I've become far stronger than you last saw me. This time, I'll do more than just scar a face. I'll destroy your entire body and leave nothing left as it burns in the sun."

"Big talk coming from someone utterly destroyed in the last duel with one of us. But, can you actually back it up?"

"Why don't you let me get a hit in and see? I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised."

Watts scoffed once again, kicking his leg out with intent to shatter Maria's body. However, Maria sidestepped the kick, jabbing a finger through his leg. He looked in shock, surprised that she could even pierce his leg.

"Looks like I win," Maria smirked. "But, next you'll say 'You think you've won? I'll just twist my leg and snap that finger like a twig'."

"You think you've won?" Watts taunted. "I'll twist my leg and snap that finger like a twig! *gasp*"

Maria smirked, leaping up to his head, grabbing out a chain and pulling it taut around his leg. He looked down at it with confusion. He also noticed that one end was now attacked to Port's body, giving it an anchor.

"Metal is a great conductor of my Aura," Maria gave a yank of the chain, which pulled tighter, the Aura coursing through it slicing cleanly through Watts' leg. The Grimmlord looked down at it in shock. There was his leg, having fallen onto the strange web of strings. Maria smirked, kicking the leg with her own foot, sending the Aura through it and causing it to disintegrate, only bones remaining and these too also crumpled to dust.

"Y-You destroyed my leg!" Watts exclaimed, looking down where his leg had been. Maria gave a smirk, pointing once again.

"It's as the great philosopher Violet Arc once said," Maria pointed. "Victory is decided by the first move. That was for Port. I may have hated him, but his sacrifice to protect the stone will not go unpunished."

"How dare you…" Watts' voice was quiet, the hulking giant clenching his fists. He gave a great scream of rage, screaming like an anime character. If Maria didn't know any better, she would have assumed he was going to go Super Saiyaman or something with the way he screamed into the night air. It was intimidating to one who saw the Grimmlord, but Maria was more disturbed than shocked.

"I-I guess this is worse than his previous demeanor," She muttered. "I suppose I should just shoot him up with Aura and get it over with."

But, just as she had said that, Watts' screams had stopped as he looked at her with a calm, cold calculation in his eyes.

"That was refreshing," Maria felt her hand twitch as he stood up to his full height, glancing down at the body of Port. "A good scream is often good for the soul. You startled me for a moment with your improved powers. But, that moment is over. Now, you shall face me when I am composed."

Maria gasped as he kicked Port's leg, removing it from the body. He attached it to his own body, merging with it with a strange yellow arc of light that pulled it together, fusing it to him. It seemed a little distorted, as Port was a good deal paler than Watts as well as a slight bit shorter.

"It seems I'm a bit off balance," The Grimmlord looked down. "Well, no matter. I'll fix that after I've killed you." He looked at Maria with a small smirk, watching her slightly unnerved expression.

"You are upset by this action, are you not?" He asked with a casual tone. "I've upset you."

"Your leg is mismatched," Maria pointed. "You look you had an accident with your suntan lotion."

"I will also fix that after I kill you. And, now, what was that you said about the battle being over with the first move? That was by the philosopher Sun Wukong. I met Sun Wukong when I travelled to study there before I last slept. Perhaps you should get better advice if you wish to beat me."

"Oh, I'll kill you alright. I've had so much trouble with this ring that I can barely sleep. But, I'll make sure I drink it in front of you."

"Big talk coming from one who cannot reattach limbs."

"You act as if I'll lose a limb."

"Your arrogance will be your downfall."

"Arrogance? I'm not arrogant. That implies I've not got the ability to win. I've got the confidence. Now, put it where your mouth is."

Glynda sat in her chair, her manservant, Sun, bringing her favorite frozen drink, a fruit parfait with buries buried at the bottom. She looked at it, feeling the cold glass in her hand. Almost immediately, there was a crack in the glass, some of the parfait leaking out. She looked at her hand. Her Aura had resonated, reacting to something nearby.

"Maria…" She muttered. Sun looked at her in confusion.

"She must mean a lot to you," He said, to which he got no response. "I've never see you focus on a student like that. She must have some potential."

"Something may be going on." Glynda looked over the island, holding the Fire Dust Stone.
"Be careful walking through the halls. I've got a bad feeling."

Across the way, Oscar trained with Oobleck over a large tower of spikes, both standing on the spikes with Aura. Oscar was flipping into the air to attack with his Razor Aura Wind. Oobleck dodged the blast of air, turning to look at Oscar, who launched another blast. He lunged under Oscar's attack, thrusting for the younger man's chest. Oscar caught him off guard with a burst of air that nearly knocked Oobleck over onto the spikes.

"Wait, Oscar, wait!" He held his hands up. "If we keep going, one of us will die. Until now, I figured it would be you, but today, you have proven it would be me."

He held his arms up, showing the hair on them. On one arm, the hair was sliced off as if a razor had come upon it. The other looked as it had before.

Oscar stopped his attack, moving over to a raised platform. He took out binoculars, looking across the way.

"You're worried about Maria, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't be as far as I am without her. Her skill is extraordinary. I would never have had the motivation to surpass her like this if it weren't. But, something's off… I can feel it."

"When you find a good friend, you sure fall hook line and sinker," Oobleck chuckled, sitting next to him.

"You make one sex joke and I really will kill you," Oscar looked through his binoculars, squinting as he looked over to where he knew Maria would be. After a few seconds, he gasped, nearly dropping the tool.

"What?" Oobleck asked, confused. "Did she get hurt?"

"No!" Oscar's alarm was off-putting to the Aura master. He suddenly felt a strange chill run down his spine. He pulled out a pair of his own binoculars, looking to where they were training.

"Watts!" He exclaimed. "He's fighting Maria! But, I don't see Port."

"He must be dead," Oscar growled. "I'm going over there!"

"No." Oobleck grabbed his arm. "It's too far. We need to get back to the master and guard the stone. Maria has the potential to handle this. We need to regroup with Glynda so that we can formulate a plan for if Watts isn't the only Grimmlord here!"

"Right!" Oscar nodded.

Maria began running around Watts, dodging the punches and kicks. The speed at which she was moving would have been unsettling for a mere human. But, by now, Maria was far above a mere human. She made a leap near Port's body, brushing against the body.

In that instant, she felt her body jolt with what felt like a city's worth of power shooting into her body.

"Wh-What the hell was that?!" She exclaimed, jumping away from the body. She looked down at her leg where she'd touch the body and noticed the skin was black, almost like she'd burned it. It felt numb, almost as if the nerves were damaged.

"You are aware of Hazel's ability to control fire," Watts smirked. "Well, my ability is to control electricity. You just touched my Spark ability. I activated that when I took his leg. I electrified his body, holding it within his body until you touched it."

"E-Electricity?" Maria's mouth opened slightly.

"If my power frightens you," Watts said. "Mistress Salem's ability is far more terrifying."

Maria paused, mulling over this. Salem was more terrifying than the ability to control electricity. What sort of ability could she have? But, Maria wasn't planning to worry about that right now. She had to defeat Watts.

"It looks like I really have frightened you," Watts taunted. "Well, allow me to frighten you further. The human body carries a small electrical current, which is responsible for your heart beating. If I were to overload your body, your heart would stop and you would go into cardiac arrest. Of course, I can control a million watts of electricity. That will be enough to shock you into a crunchy little crisp, after which I will devour your body whole. Or, what's left of it, I should say.

"You won't get the chance! Now, let's fight for real!"

Maria began running around, swinging her chain at Watts. The Grimmlord dodged and ducked under the swing of the chain, moving his body as if it were a liquid. Maria moved in close, keeping swinging her chain around as she moved, wildly swinging at Watts.

"The next thing you'll say is 'And, now, with my chain, I've caught you.'" Watts chuckled, standing as Maria stopped swinging her chain.

"And now, with my chain, I've caught you!" Maria pointed, gasping. "Hey, that's my thing!"

"Your pathetic Aura ability to predict moves and dialogue is quite perplexing," Watts said, a group of strange tendrils emerging from his body. "However, my perception is strong when it comes to figuring out what someone so boastful will say."

The tendrils split open at the ends, making a forked end, like a pitchfork missing the middle prong… or an electrical contact. Blue electricity sparked between them. Maria's eyes widened as she looked at them, jumping back as she saw the electricity. All of the tendrils touched the chain, lighting up the metal in a brilliant blue as the electricity crackled along the length of the chain. Maria had let go, falling through the rope netting and toward the spikes below.

Watts stared down at her, expecting her to have fallen onto the spikes. Instead, what he saw was Maria, holding onto the spikes with her Aura, staying above them and not falling. There was a small line of blood along her neck, the collar that had been around it missing.

"Damn you, Watts!" She shouted, shaking her fist. "The first time that goddamn collar is off of my neck and you've ruined my beautiful neck! It looks like I swapped bodies with someone!"

"Your plan failed, Rose," Watts looked down. "And, now, I will complete what I started."

He jumped down, slicing the rope netting and landing hard on the spikes, his feet being impaled on the spikes as he stood there. He stalked toward Maria, who ran toward him with a strange look in her eyes. He sent his tendrils running toward her, their intent to send every volt into her muscular body. She jumped up into the air, holding her hands together. The tendrils all snapped for her as if they had mouths, but she had moved, a small string surrounding them. She pulled it tight, yanking down as she touched something in the spike pit.

Maria stood with her arms crossed, a look of victory on her face.

"Oh, but my look is one of victory," She chuckled. "Because you've sealed your fate by coming down here."

"And, what makes you think you've won?" Watts asked, more tendrils shooting off of his body and slicing the chain around Maria. "You think that you can use that chain to send your Aura through me? It won't work, fool!"

"Oh, no, believe me, I was planning to use the chain," Maria smirked, giving it a yank. The chain around her pulled taut, entangling itself around Watts. The Grimmlord's eyes were wide, the slightest hint of shock and panic as he saw the chains. "But, I was also using this smaller string to bind your little friends."

"Your next line is 'I'll electrocute you before you can send your Aura into me!'" Maria pointed as Watts strained to move with the chains.

"I'll electrocute you before you can send your Aura into me!" Watts shouted, sending the tendrils shooting for the chain. Maria took a breath, feeling the full might of her aura surge into the chain, shooting up the full length of the chain and coursing through Watts' body. He screamed an unholy shriek of pain, the Aura ripping through his defenses and attacking every cell like a nuclear bomb, disintegrating him from the inside out. He tried once again to break free of the chains, but the Aura surrounding it prevented him from doing much.

"Y-You've forced me to unleash my full strength!" He shouted, a tail emerging from his back, crackling with electricity. It lashed at Maria, who gave an angry yell, slicing through it with a blow from her Aura infused chop. It fell to the ground, shriveling up and dying as Watts gave one more pained shriek. Power began to explode off of him, making a veritable nova of energy, shooting off into every direction. The black, malignant energy seemed to burst off of him, radiating in a powerful wave.

"Wh-What is this?!" Maria shielded her face, keeping up the flow of her Aura. "Is this the power of someone of his kind; someone who's lived for millennia? Such incredible force!"

With one last shriek, Watts disintegrated, his skin peeling back and vaporizing as his ebony skeleton remained, crumbling into a black dust in between the spikes that lined the floor. Maria looked at it in victory.

"It seems they have black colored skeletons," She mused. "It must be due to the blood flowing through their veins. Or, my Aura charred it. It's definitely gotten stronger. I should probably go kill that Tyrian guy after this is over… But, for now, I need to tell Glynda Goodbitch what happened. This isn't good."

She left the spike pit, heading toward the main part of the island, where Glynda was, stretching her arms.

"At least we've managed to keep the stone safe so far…" She muttered, thinking back to when Glynda had first shown the stone to her and Oscar and then the time someone tried to steal it.

The group had arrived at a café in the mainland, sitting back to order food. Maria had decided to order a shake, something expensive to force Glynda to pay for it. She had decided to make her wear this stupid collar after all. Oscar ordered a float, something cheap out of respect for his mentor.

"So, how did you come into possession of the stone?" Maria asked.

"I was given the stone by a warrior trained in the Aura." The blonde looked down at the stone. "He taught me in the way of Aura and gave me this stone to guard. It is my most valued possession, not just because of what it means to defeat the Grimmlords, but because he gave it to me."

"I've met a few of them myself," Maria rolled her eyes. "The one I knew best, Lionheart, was a real prick at the end. Sold his soul to lose some wrinkles. Worthless bastard tried to kill my aunt."

Glynda paused at this, looking at her own sundae as if choosing her words carefully. Oscar picked up on the pause, but Maria didn't, a look of hatred coming over her eyes at the thought of Lionheart.

"This Lionheart…" Glynda looked at Maria. "I cannot speak for what was happening in his mind at the time, but I will say I have seen my fair share of those tempted by what the masks of bone could do. I do not believe he was the first. Oscar could tell you of his grandfather's experience with the mask, before he trained in the Aura, which set him on the path to his destiny."

"That's not a story I tell, really," Oscar said, sighing. "But, yes. And, Maria, I do not blame you for my grandfather's death, nor do I blame your grandmother. My grandfather was fated to die that day. I was told of how he had seen his future and embraced it willingly. I just wanted an outlet for my anger at this situation. I know that your grandmother was responsible for destroying the Grimm Cinder Fall. I'd heard the stories from Master."

"How did you know about them?" Maria's look turned to suspicion.

"How do you think the Atlesians knew?" Glynda looked at her; though, there was a pause in her answer. "They didn't get everything from Raven. There were things they found out through other methods. Cinder Fall sent ripples through the world with her power, a threat only surpassed by our current threat. I trained in the ways of Aura so that I would be ready in case something as evil as her returned to this world. You can't just wait on a hero like Summer Rose to come along to fight. Sometimes you have to step up yourself."

"I just don't understand my place in this," Maria sighed. "I suppose you two would understand best. I know this sounds odd coming from me, but I'd rather get this off my chest before we fight the Grimmlords. I don't want to be compared to my grandmother's legacy. My grandfather is always comparing me to her. But, I'm my own person. I dunno, maybe it's the rings that may kill me that make me think of saying this, but I figured you guys would understand."

"I do," Glynda said, looking down at her sundae. She was quiet, but also seemed on guard.

"I understand that as well," Oscar finished his float. "I don't agree, but I can understand where you come from. But, once we take care of this, you won't have to be under your grandmother's shadow. Besides, I'm pretty sure from what you've described of her, you're already unlike her. I'm pretty sure, based on your stories, she wasn't a cocky bitch."

"You'll eat those words," Maria smirked, her usual personality back, pointing a finger at Oscar. The two began rolling around and fell off the pier into the water.

"Hello, pretty lady," A man walked over to Glynda, leaning on the table. "Care to go for a ride with me?"

"I'll pass," Glynda waved him off. "Please leave us alone."

"Aww, come on," He put an arm around her, a hand drifting to her chest. "You and that pretty rock can just entertain me on a fun date."

"The lady said no," A muscular arm grabbed him on the shoulder and spun him around. The man found himself staring at the soaking wet forms of Oscar and Maria, who towered over him. They stared down at him, eyes narrowed as they watched him began to shake. Oscar grabbed him by his collar, Maria putting a hand over his head as if grabbing a bowling ball.

"Should we teach him a lesson, Master?" Oscar asked, looking at Glynda.

"No no, just let him go," Glynda adjusted her glasses. "He won't be causing us trouble."

"Alright then," Oscar let go, but Maria held on.

"Sorry, but I don't take orders very well." Maria punched the man in his nose, knocking him into the water. "I guess you'll swim back."

"I must say I feel stiff…" Maria snapped back to reality, stretching her shoulders. "I must have worked out too much with this one. "Well, I guess I better check on Glynda and see if the stone is alright or if there's more Grimmlords here."

Maria walked, unaware of the black, pulsing mass clinging to her back.

And, so, one of the three obstacles on the path to Maria's fate has been removed. Will the others fall the same or will Maria not reach her destiny?