Chapter Eight: Chase the Stone

A/N; Oops, sorry about the mis-upload...

The Amazonian built woman stood near the phone booth, waiting, arms crossed. She knew it would only be a matter of time and she ran a hand through her blonde hair as she closed her eyes. She had donned a cloak to help shelter her from the sun if she had to wait through the night. She also had a wide brimmed red hat that hid her features somewhat. Not that she had any fear of being found. It wasn't like anyone who had threatened her so far in this time could put up any threat.

However, despite her justified confidence in her abilities, something was nagging at her, almost as if part of her was missing. Something couldn't have happened with Watts or Hazel, they were invincible, after all.

She watched a small cat walk by. She watched the animal in small fascination, admiring its carefree nature. It didn't care what time of day it was. It could walk any time it wanted. Prideful little thing. She watched as the oncoming vehicle was racing closer. The cat seemed to not be paying attention.

The Grimmlord couldn't answer why she acted; perhaps out of respect or acknowledgement. As the car moved by, she touched the window. The driver was intoxicated, same as the passenger. Neither saw it coming and neither would breathe again after this moment. She could hear the passenger's confusion as her power took effect, the driver too inebriated to understand the full weight of what had happened to him. The car smashed into a pole, but anyone looking at it would be able to tell it was crushed before it even touched the pole

She spared one last glance at the cat, who watched her with a curious expression. As she looked away, she sighed. Her intuition was probably right. She needed to get moving.

Twelve hours earlier

"Hey, Sun," Maria moved behind the monkey tailed beastman, grabbing him around the waist. "Guess who!"

"Yipe!" Sun yelped, a fist coming back and smacking into Maria's nose. She dropped him, grabbing her nose to try to stem any bloodflow.

"Whad the 'ell uz dat phor?!" She exclaimed, holding her nose.

"Oops, guess you scared me!" Sun rubbed the back of his head, laughing. "You are pretty loud, miss Maria."

"You're lucky you're hot," Maria felt her Aura healing any damage, allowing her to talk normally. "Now, how about you and I go on a hot date."

"I dunno," Sun teased. "I don't date people who look like Frankenstein's monster, what with your neck wound and all."

"You take that back, my neck is hot!"

"Nah, it's ugly! Maybe you could start to wear scarves or something."

"I'll show you! I'd rock a damn fine scarf! Now, where's Glynda Goodbitch? I have some things to discuss."

"She's in the bath, so take about a half hour or something so that you don't disturb her."

"Yeah yeah, sure, whatever."

"Good," Sun bowed slightly, disappearing around the corner. "Oh, and Maria?"

"Yeah?"

"You look pretty hot," Sun said. His voice sounded a little hoarse, but Maria grinned as she accepted the flirting, walking toward him, but seeing him gone.

"Weird. But, I suppose I feel much better. Maybe the weight and stiffness was my body acknowledging I was off my game. But, now, I'm back on top baby."

She turned to walk toward the door, heading out to see how Oscar did when an idea struck her.

"He said I would have half an hour while she's in the bath… I suppose that's half an hour of a good time. I've been meaning to take some private time the whole time I've been here."

She made a beeline for Glynda's bathroom, looking down to see Glynda had one of those older doors with a traditional keyhole. She looked in, almost gasping loudly as she saw the sight of Glynda's nude back, towel dropped and sitting beside the tub.

"Come on, turn around," Maria muttered. "Give me the gun show."

Glynda turned around, placing her glasses on the table beside the bathtub. Maria gave a curt, but soft 'YES!' and pumped her fist in the air.

"Jackpot!" She muttered. "Goddamn, that's a good time. She looks fantastic. Gotta say, that Aura makes the body fine."

She looked in to see Sun walk next to her, holding up a pair of dresses.

"Sun, that lucky bastard!" Maria nearly shouted. "Why does he get to attend her!? Wait, is he gay or something? No, wait, he hit on me, so he's definitely into hot chicks at least somewhat. But, also wait, he went the exact opposite way as this room earlier. How is he here now?!"

"Hold it right there!" Maria burst open the door, pointing at Sun. "What talents are you hiding?! How did you convince her to let you stand in here while she's naked!? Oh, also, how did you get here so fast? You went the opposite way as me to get here!"

Glynda stood there, more confused at the scene than anything else. Maria glanced between her and Sun, noting the fact that Glynda had made no move to put on a towel, probably focusing her attention on why Maria had barged in and demanded Sun explain his talents.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Sun said, coughing once. "I simply came here to attend to Miss Goodwitch."

"Hey, Sun, I was walking by the pier a minute ago and saw you send out a package," Oscar walked in. "What did you mail out?"

"Wait, how did you do that too?!" Maria pointed at Sun. I was at this point that Oscar noticed the state of Glynda's undress. He covered his eyes, moving to cover Maria's.

"Cover your eyes, pervert!" He exclaimed. "The master is naked!"

"I've got eyes, dumbass, I can see that," Maria snapped. "But, more importantly than those beautiful breasts is how Sun could be talking to me, mail a package, and then get back here within a minute."

"Wait, that is odd…" Oscar muttered. "Sun isn't fast like that. He's quick to run after a banana, but even that isn't superhuman. He has no Aura training and—"

"Oh my god, you are all idiots!" Sun groaned, his voice hoarse. "I can't believe someone like you actually presents a threat to us!"

"Wait, what?" Oscar asked.

"Wait, that voice…" Maria pointed at Sun. "Watts! You're inside of him! Get out of that hunkalicious body before I kick your ass! Why did you take it over in the first place?"

"Wait, where's the stone?" Glynda looked to where she had placed the stone, before Maria started her peep show, noticing its absence.

"You don't get it, do you?" Watts asked from Sun's body. "I mailed it off and you'll never find it! Now, with my next act, I shall destroy you all to protect Mistress Salem and Hazel!"

Sun's body began to crackle, what looked like electrical burns appearing on his skin. Tendrils of flesh shot off of him, anchoring the body to the ground and ceiling and blocking the door.

"I'll just electrocute all of you and save myself any real trouble!" Watts laughed as the arcs of electricity shot off of him. Glynda exited the tub at that point, towel around her body and using her Aura to repel the water, letting it shoot off like bullets as she flexed her muscles. She stood, ready to fight.

"I'll kick your ass, you bastard!" Maria rushed forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Watts caused Sun's finger to waggle. "If you try to hurt me, it'll be the boy that gets hurt. You wouldn't want to hurt this hot dick, would you? I mean, even as well toned as this body is, the amount of Aura needed to kick me out would kill him."

"Damn, you're right." Maria crossed her arms, stroking her chin. "There's got to be a way to save that."

"This is the person who is my rival," Oscar sighed.

"You know what, fuck it! If it's one person, even if it's someone as hot as Sun, I'll have to do it to save the world!"

Maria ran up, Aura bursting from her fist as she came close with her punch. Watts, however, stood stock still, watching as she stopped short. Maria growled, throwing another, this one also stopping short.

"Dammit, I can't do it! I can't hit such a hunky body!"

"Glad to see your priorities are straight," Glynda sighed. There was something else she muttered under her breath, but neither Oscar nor Maria caught it. Maria growled, watching as Watts cackled from in Sun's body.

"You shitheads are so dumb!" He laughed. "I can't believe we were threatened by you! You're pathetic! Now, suffer and die!"

The electricity arcing off of him nearly seared Maria's shoulder, causing her to back up in shock as she surveyed the scene. Her gaze turned to Oscar, an idea beginning to form, Oscar sighing in resignation.

"What is it? What stupid idea do you have this time?"

"Hey, this one isn't stupid!" Maria pointed. "You haven't even heard it yet. Now, hear me out! We send two types of Aura into him."

"What?" Oscar looked at her like she'd grown two heads. "How is that supposed to do anything?"

"I think I get it," Glynda snapped her fingers. "One of you uses the destroying variant of Aura to destroy Watts from within and the other uses the healing variant to heal Sun. Brilliant."

"I see," Oscar looked at Sun, the tendrils of sparking electricity going wild. "Let's do it!"

Maria nodded as they ran up to Sun, concentrating the Aura. Maria channeled the destructive Aura and Oscar the healing Aura. Maria slammed two fists on Sun's chest, resisting the urge to cop a feel. Oscar placed his hands on Sun's waist, both forcing the full strength of their Aura into Sun. Sun and Watts both screamed, pain radiating through Sun's body. He convulsed and shook, the shriveled form of Watts' remains shooting off of him in a hurry. Sun collapsed to the ground, Oscar continuing to heal him so he wouldn't die.

Maria walked over and picked Watts' remains up, the blob of black material shrieking as if threatened.

"Destroy it," Oscar said. "He'll die for this."

"No," Maria said, a rare moment of clarity in her voice. "I can tell how he fought. He risked his life to bring the stone to his comrades. While we're enemies, I can acknowledge the ferocity with which he fought for this cause. He is a true warrior. Let the sun destroy him. It's coming up after all."

The remains of Watts looked out at the sunrise coming up and the beams of light rapidly approaching their location. As it climbed up the walls of the building they stood in, a single black shape, only slightly darker than the remains themselves, slid down as several tendrils entered Maria's body.

Oscar made a move to attack, but Maria held up a hand, the remains of Watts beginning to disintegrate before their eyes.

"It's beautiful," Maria whispered, though the voice that came from her mouth wasn't her own. "So beautiful."

"Perhaps it was this beauty that started them on this quest in the first place." Maria spoke softly as the tendrils retracted and dissolved into dust, floating away in the breeze from the open windows.

"Wait, we need to get the package containing the stone back quickly!" Oscar exclaimed. "Come on, Maria! Let's go! Oobleck can come with us!"

"Nah, we'll do better on our own!" Maria ran off, Oscar right on their heels.

It was a quick swim to the mainland, faster than a boat could get them. They raced to the post office, Maria kicking the door open and marching up to the man behind the desk.

"Hey, clerk, we need to know where a package was going," She pointed a finger at him. "So, start talking."

"W-Well, ma'am, we can't just give those details away," The man behind the desk shook his head. "That violates quite a few rules. I mean imagine the trouble you and I both would be in."

"Look, it was stamped with this seal," Maria slammed down a piece of paper with Glynda's seal on it. "So, get talking."

"Again, ma'am, I cannot divulge such information to someone who has not mailed the letter. Of course, if you mailed the letter, you would know who it's going to. So, I cannot divulge that."

"Are you seriously going to give me this shit!" Maria grabbed the man by his collar, pulling him up to her eye level. "I'm not really in the mood to deal with this right now, so I suggest you start telling me things I want to know or else I'll make you have an even better face for radio."

"Y-Y-You're going to hit me!" the man exclaimed, covering his face with his hands. Everyone turned to look at the scene. Oscar kicked Maria's shin gently, getting her attention. He gestured with his head around the room, letting Maria see everyone.

"Oh, uh, I wasn't going to hit you." She laughed nervously, setting him back down. "I just noticed you had something on your face and I wanted to get a better look at it."

She pat the man on the head, the post office clerk looking positively shaken. Everyone went back to their work, starting to ignore the three.

"Try not to cause a scene," Oscar muttered. "The last thing we want to do is get arrested."

"It ain't so bad," Maria shot back. "Plus, it ain't like I'd get caught anyway. Now, mister mail clerk, are you going to talk about where that letter was going?"

"A-A-As I said before, I cannot—" The man started, but was cut off by Maria's fist slamming down on the table.

"Wrong answer!" She exclaimed, grabbing him by his collar again.

"Oh god, please don't hit me!" The man screamed like a child.

Once again, everyone looked into the room to see Maria holding him. She quickly put him back down, straightening the visor he wore.

"Just, uh, fixing your hat," She nervously laughed. While she could probably take everyone there, she most likely wouldn't avoid jail time if it came down to it. That was something she needed to avoid. Fortunately for her, Oobleck came running in, moving over to her and Oscar.

"Master Glynda has found the address the package is going to," He spoke in a hushed tone. "She read Sun's mind and he remembered where he had sent it to."

"She can do that?" Maria asked.

"It is similar to how you are able to read the future," Oobleck stated. "Now, the package is heading for South Atlas."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," The clerk said. "Our South Atlas train has departed already."

"Shit!" Maria ran out the door to see the waiting car. "Let's haul ass, you two."

"Strange one," Oobleck muttered, Oscar rolling his eyes as he walked out as well. Maria was in the car, sitting in the passenger's seat because Glynda had insisted she not drive. Sun was standing a little ways back, waving. He had electrical burns on his face, but they seemed to be healing nicely.

"Sun!" Maria shouted, looking back at him as Oscar hopped in the driver's seat. "You better heal up for when I come back!"

"When you heal up that ugly neck!" Sun called back with a laugh, tossing a pebble at her. Maria gave a two finger salute as they drove off to where the train would be docking.

"Listen," Glynda said in a serious tone. "This will be the most dangerous thing we'll probably do in our lives. We must be careful here. Even if the law itself is against what we're doing, then so be it. We must destroy the Grimmlords where they stand. The world depends on it."

"Understood," The other passengers nodded, the tension in the air palpable. They all felt a chill, almost as if the Grimm Reaper was touching their shoulders. Maria and Oscar in particular felt a resolve unlike any other, their Rose and Pine blood boiling as their fates resonated, the Grimmlords having been responsible for the deaths of their grandparents. Glynda watched them, a strange look in her eyes as she took in the visage of Maria and Oscar. Her own blood and fate seemed to resonate with theirs, her fist clenching as she stared straight ahead.

They raced after the train, breaking a few speeding limits. Maria told Oscar to put a little lead in it. The train had the advantage of being forged on a straighter path, unlike the road their car drove on, a more winding and steep road. As they got closer to Atlas, the temperature got colder, Maria putting on a scarf as they began to see less and less trees. It was obvious that they were nearing the most northern part of the world. Even the southern portions were considerably colder than Vale or Patch. The train stopped at the station in Southern Atlas, creaking to a stop as the crew opened the doors.

The car they drove in was nearing the train station, but they couldn't make it go any faster, the roads being potentially dangerous. There was a car behind them that seemed to be trying to get around them.

"Go around already!" Maria waved them around her, but they made no movement to do so. They also began honking their horn. As they pulled up to the train station, Maria hopped out of the car, determined to give the driver what for. The car was a convertible, the top coming down as she prepared to throttle the driver.

Maria stopped in her tracks as she saw the drivers of the car. Her blood went colder than it already was when she saw the white uniforms that were synonymous of the Atlesian army. There were three soldiers in this particular car, two men and a woman. The men wore standard outfits, but the woman was dressed in the white, green, and blue of the Colonel rank. She wore a cap over her face, which was covered in shadow. In her hands was a riding crop almost like Glynda's, but different. Her hair was pulled up into the cap, hidden from sight. She seemed to see Maria.

"Ah, Fraulein Rose," She spoke with a warming voice that belied her nature. "So good to see how you've grown. It has been good."

"I don't know any damn Atzis!" Maria pointed her finger at the woman, who stood up and exited the car, walking over to her. A very familiar looking man poked his head out of the train, holding a package. "Colonel, I've retrieved the package!" He exclaimed.

"Good," The colonel smiled as she looked at Maria once again. The man walked over, Maria recognizing him immediately. "This man here who you so rudely knocked into the river is my spy. He was going to take the stone from you there, but you were too much for him to handle. Another evidence of your growth. I must admire that facet of you."

"Stop talking as if you know me!" Maria shouted, stomping over to the woman. The other two soldiers from the car stepped in front of her as the Colonel opened the package and held the stone, pocketing it on her uniform.

"We have been watching you, Maria Rose," The woman now spoke with intrigue. "Your training with Miss Goodwitch, your fight with Watts, your discussions of the stone. I think it would be in our best interests to work together. These Grimmlords threaten our Fatherland as well. We have a home up ahead that will be perfect to compare notes. We have quite a bit to catch up on."

With that, the soldier walked away toward the car. Maria glared after the Atlesian, not desiring to tangle with the entirety of the army. Glynda walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"At this point, it would be better if we work with them." Her tone was quiet, advisory. "They also wish to destroy them at this point. They learned their lesson back in the catacombs. We should trust them for now. We will get the stone back, but after this."

"I suppose you're right," Maria sighed, clenching her fists. They all got back in their car, beginning to follow the Atlesians to their base.

Maria's jaw dropped at the size of the base; what she had expected to be nothing larger than a shed was a two story mansion with quite a few rooms and a beautiful view overlooking a cliff. The Colonel gestured them enter and two soldiers escorted them to two rooms, one for Maria and Glynda and one for Oscar and Oobleck. 'While we believe in cohabitation, we typically do split up the men from the women' the soldier had said. "Keeps the shenanigans down to a more manageable level."

They waited for several hours, nothing of note happening. However, that night, a lone figure stalked up to the house.

The Grimmlord moved quietly, even with the snow crunching beneath her feet, she made nary a sound. She walked up to the wall of the cabin, touching it.

"One, two, three… six bodies," She murmured to herself. "Each about six feet, all male. All standing close together."

With a swipe of her hand across the wall, a small crack was heard, like the sound of a twig snapping. With that concluded, she opened the window and stepped in. The bodies on the floor by the window were crushed, bones sticking out of odd places and some of them with bodies crushed like accordions. However, each one had their neck crushed especially. There was a shuffle across the room, almost as if someone moved too much on purpose.

Salem's gaze snapped to the sofa across the room, where a figure sat in shadows.

"Six men, all trained professionals, all in peak physical condition," She spoke, standing and holding up a finger. "And, not only did you hear about the death of your friend and the fact that the stone was sent out, you rushed over here after discovering us, but you killed them in less than three seconds and they made little more sound than a mouse as they were crushed by your strange ability. You are quite fast, Salem of the Grimmlords."

"Why cannot I sense your form?" The Amazonian built woman demanded, voice holding no malice, but rather curiosity.

"I am a lot more than you expected," The Colonel walked over. "I have quite a few surprises in store for you."

Salem thrust her hand forward, intent on touching the Colonel, but the Colonel caught her hand by the wrist. At that moment, Maria chose to walk in, with a drink.

"God, you damn Atzis should stock your fridge better! I could use a bite to eat around here!"

The Colonel's had was blown off by the force of Salem's power as she saw the scene.

"Salem!" Maria growled, clenching her fist. But, the biggest surprise was as she looked to the Colonel. With her had gone, her ginger hair fell down, past her breasts, green eyes flashing like they had lights behind them. Getting a better look, her body seemed to have a sheen, almost as if it was metallic. "A-And Polendina!"

Salem's attention was focused on Maria, her gaze filled with a hatred beyond any other.

"She knows I killed Watts and she wants to take her revenge."

"Focus on me, Salem," Polendina squeezed her wrist. "Your fight is with me."

"Sit back, Fraulein Rose," Polendina smirked, turning her attention to Maria. "Don't you dare feel sorry for me in this state. I've crawled out of hell just for this moment. Atlesian science is the world's finest, is it not?"

And, so, the fated battle commences, between the one who has defied even death itself and the one who seeks to conquer it.