Title: Why Not?
Extended Summary: A Time loop story, Claire awakens, through some miraculous plot bunny her awakened powers let her time travel and she looks like her original childlike self - she tries to get herself + her past self adopted by Teresa again and again but as an awakened it doesn't go quite so well. Luckily if at first you don't succeed - bend time back and try again.
Disclaimer: I don't own Claymore and sadly before I could post this "WHYBENORMAL93" posted a Claymore time-travel fic so mine won't look completely original and inspired.
Rated: M
Language: Mostly English
-0-0-0-
Prologue: Awakening to the Truth.
He'd abandoned her.
How could he? But she'd saved him he was her Claire, how she'd become her Teresa, and this was it… Cast aside.
Raki.
She'd devoted years to him, waiting, searching desperate for his return. And the time, no the whole time, he was with that bitch!
Priscilla.
Oh How Claire hated that name!
But She had always hated herself more, Claire had known Teresa knew what she was doing and yet, she stepped in, saved the girls life and her mother was taken from her minutes later by the same one she foretold that would kill her if spared.
Claire had doomed herself and her beloved Teresa.
Claire knew she was already near awakening when he came; he'd step into her path and blocked the killing blow, preventing Claire from taking her mothers' murderer's head. That split second had been all Priscilla needed to fling Claire away and towards an outcrop of lava filled rock. The organization had suspensions but none had ever known the secret to the Awakened's forms and the reason they each became them. Awakening granted pleasure, but it also granted a new chance at life. In the case of Isley he had always prided raw power and accuracy above all else and so when his time came, his form was influenced by this, he himself had always wished to have time to ride horses just like when he was a boy and the power changed and moulded him into his fractured desire. When he reached his awakened for it wasn't quite what he had meant when he imagined his childhood pre attendance of the organization days.
Jean was the same in this regard, she had been being tortured and her memories flashed back to a time of freedom, she had escaped the massacre of her family from Youma's by mere luck of admiring the freedom and flight of a butterfly. Her memories had settled back to that moment trying to maintain her humanity but instead in her desire to be free and fly away had moulded her into an awakened. Jean had been a fluke, for that Claire was certain and she'd doubted she'd ever be able to repeat the process. Once Jean died, by Claire's hand and actions Claire had broken – it was only the increasingly dangerous situation that had cut her mourning short for the beautifully protective warrior and return to the battle on hand.
Claire had never really felt like she had a place in the world, living only for her unsuccessful revenge, betrayed by everyone, she just wanted a chance to try again to be free to be with Teresa. Was that so wrong? The power that Claire had already been using to excess broke over her partially awakened form, spikes and tendrils shot as her borrowed arm from Irene awoke separately from the rest of her. Priscilla had become the most powerful by unlocking all her future potential and power but that potential had been an illusion. To Claire she was receiving not only the power of her own awakening but the power of Irene's as well, unknown to her even as the glorious power wrapped her body. Jean was aiding her as well and leaving behind her own legacy in the awakening Warrior; the power Jean had forced through her veins when she neared Awakening was not only her own but the full remnant of her own Awakening plus her potential doubled after reversal. Claire herself had already Partially-Awakened, but Teresa, her flesh had never even drawn near to partial awakening. Claire was about to receive the force of power from nearly six aspects of Yoki power extensions.
As the Clawed Appendages' reached up Claire screamed and then Everything went broke, so many colours ran across Claire as some many aspects of her form awakened but throughout all the pain, the excruciating pain, Claire thought of her surrogate mother, Teresa.
-0-0-0-
Chapter 1. In the Eye of the Needle
She blinked the light was bright; the sun shined over the tree-tops and the forest was mostly quite save for the munching? Claire looked up. She was surrounded by Youma, all of them were munching away at human corpses that they had obviously taken their time slaughtering. The Question was, why didn't they seem concerned for her. She was a Warrior, a Claymore she was.. well and ex-warrior but still. The nearest Youma approached her and Claire tried not to gasp, he had the same face as the Youma that had taken her all those years ago. The reason Teresa had first saved her and, he offered her the meat of one of the carcases. She vaguely remembered that once the humans the Youma kept took the meat the Youma would laugh and then eat them alive. She wondered why she could hear laughing, she'd never eat the flesh of a human she was a good girl she remembered her lessons and.
-Hungry-
-So Hungry-
-Not Hungry-
That was disturbingly odd why would?
"Hah looks like your lucky girl, we need you to get into this town but after that your Youma meat freak got that!" Claire looked up in surprise and saw that the flesh the monster had been offering her was gone. And then she looked as he reached for her hands and started to clean them, they were covered in blood and guts. "Let's get this off you, don't want em' thinking you're a Youma do you?" the laughter echoed around the clearing as the other Youma took to packing up their makeshift camp. Claire licked her lips and nearly vomited, she had just eaten human flesh and, she'd barley noticed. But how?
The Journey into the town was a harsh one but eventual progress succeeded and the party arrived. As per-usual the Youma were greeted with open arms for rescuing a child from a burning town. They showered them with praise and forgot all the harshness of the world to shower the Hero's with gifts and promises. My senses were going wild and I was sure something was going to happen soon, the clank of partial-chainmail answered my question, Teresa. If this was a dream I wanted it to never end.
I could see her, run to her, wait for her. She was here once more. My Teresa.
I practically glossed over her speech to the towns-people she uncaringly cut a swathe through the Youma, but the one who held me deviated from the original script, Originally he had pleaded to let him take me as I was only one girl but this time he did something that horrified me, he tried to turn Teresa against me.
"You known its only one girl, besides she's a worse monster than you or I, after all she's human and yet she like the taste of her own kind!" The shocked gasps from the crowd were enough, before the Youma could finish speaking Teresa on cue took off his beastly head.
She had still saved me, I ran through the crowd and the village congratulated her, but as I reached her and flung my arms around her waist I didn't even have as long as before when she smacked me full force with the blunt edge of her claymore. Gasping, crying in despair I felt her eyes land on me. "Don't touch me freak, I can sense the Yoki pathways and tell if a Youma is lying, you've eaten the flesh of your own, he was right you are a monster." Ignoring me she turned to the villagers and addressed them, "If I were you I would have her imprisoned or killed she's more dangerous than any Youma and could turn on you at any mome-"Why." I asked interrupting her.
"Why! You were meant to save me!" I cried desperately reaching forward to her, I heard screams behind me, and then I felt my form twist, tendrils shot out grasping Teresa while simultaneously impaling the surrounding villagers'. Gasping in surprise Teresa tried to free herself, "Awakened" she stuttered, "power beyond the Abyssal'?" While flattered I was still so distraught, she couldn't Teresa was the only one that wanted me. Without her I…
"No!" Screaming more darkly coloured tendrils erupted; more spikes exploded with the ground, giant wings erupted from my back. Teresa was slowly going blue from lack of oxygen. Good god I was crushing the only person ever to show me love and kindness.
I moved ran towards her and my tendrils fell slack startled Teresa fell uncomfortably to the ground, I hugged her desperately, I wanted No I needed her warmth. I sobbed into her "I try to be a good girl, why aren't I a good girl?" Hey it worked for Priscilla why wouldn't it work for me? Teresa hugged me and for a second I though everything was going to be alright, then she cut off my head.
-0-0-0-
I blinked the light was brightly shining down on me, thick trees surrounded me an was that munching? Facing me a Youma offered me some meat, and I took it.