They saw a beautiful wispy woman about five and a half feet tall stride into the town. She had a pageboy haircut and wore armor on her shoulders, waist, wrists, and feet. Her strides were powerful and experience exuded from her very being. The most noticeable trait, however, was the large sword that she carried, fully establishing her status as a Claymore, a warrior of the organization.

The appearance of the Claymore was somewhat shocking to the townsfolk. Most had expected a malformed monster that took orders like a drone, but instead they saw a beautiful figure dressed in light medieval armor and elegant in stature. Despite this, the crowd still whispered staring at the Claymore like they had seen a ghost.

"Look her eyes are silver"

"Yea, why do you think they're called silver eyed witches?"

"I really just hope that she doesn't go after us"

"Well, she does have some Yoma in her"

She shook her head at this notion for this was a common occurrence. Fear for the organization's warriors were merely rooted in a prejudice, though justified prejudice when considering their history. They feared what they could not understand and only knew that they were monsters in it of themselves.

As she strode in closer, the crowd parted like the red sea, fearing her presence as if her skin radiated a poison. Again, she shrugged off the nervous whispers and anxious gazes and continued forward. Everything was going as normal for the Claymore except for one thing.

There was a nagging presence of being watched.

She stopped, a gasp breaking through the crowd as she spun her head to shoot her gaze towards an open window. There was no one -no- there was someone, just far faster than any human reaction possible. She stuck a mental note in her head as she walked off and continued towards the village leader's abode.

At the very window that she looked at, Alex was breathing heavily leaning right next to the opening. He had pushed the Conduit away from the window, for felt a chill enter him.

"Shit," the virus said, "who the hell is she?"

Of Lightning, Flesh, and Swords

Chapter 3: Rooftop Flight

Inside the office of the town's Chief, an older man sat in his chair. The many wrinkles and ripples on his face presented his age and the sweat that had appeared on said wrinkles glistened. His face turned into a nervous smile as he came face to face with the claymore. Her eyes were cold as the silvery snow in her eyes.

The rumors were true indeed.

Her presence, despite his earlier alert, had shocked him. The response from the organization had barely come this morning and he had expected at least a fortnight to pass before she appeared. Now she stood within the confines of his home giving him a chilling glare that almost seemed to know what he had done.

"Uhhm, here's the payment for your services," The old man stuttered barely containing his fear. "Please, you can check it's all there."

The cold gaze of the claymore moved, he felt it cutting through his body.

"No,"

The old man went wide eyed. Did she know of his treachery? Would she deny the village of her services? Luckily, both options was not the case as the Claymore continued to speak in the same cold tone as before.

"Once the job is complete, a representative will come by and collect it. I can't accept payment myself"

The chief found himself barely able to stand as he spoke. "O-Ok. Whatever you say."

Surprisingly the Claymore started to elaborate, to the chief's horror. "It means if I fail you and die in the process, you are not obligated to pay anything."

Her words shook him. Perhaps, it was foolish to get help from the two strangers. If one so close built to fight Yoma was so accepting of her own death, what chance would they have. He might as well have sent them to their deaths

It shook him to the core.

"Um, miss?" He uttered. His fear almost got the best of him as he tried to speak, "There is one other detail that has recently come up."

"And that is?" The claymore questioned still showing no signs emotion.

"I . . . I may have hired two men to kill the Yoma"

The Claymore started to turn as the chief stood still waiting for a response. The claymore stopped, however, and spoke in a questioning tone. "What did they ask for?"

"A room in a local Inn and dinner. They promised me that they would finish by the day, but I don't know if-"

"If they have died, then that is the least of my concerns," she said continuing towards the door, "that or they've swindled you for a place to stay for the night,"

He nodded his head, "I . . . suppose,"

"If they did, however, do what they promised, I doubt they shall survive their first encounter and I would advise you not to do such a thing in the future again."

As soon as she left the door, the chief fell to his knees as his wife came to his aid.

"My god that was my first Claymore," He muttered, he could barely continue speaking as he felt his life lose a couple years. "I was expecting her to be more human but . . . but she . . . was . . . just like a monster."

Behind the dark back alleyways of the town, the duo found themselves giving bitter stares at each other as the two men argued back and forth about the Claymore.

In some sense, they could feel for the woman. Who else offered to kill creatures of death for the rest of their lives and gain no sympathy for their roles? It reminded Cole of his time in New Marias whenever he spotted a group of civilians demonizing him. It reminded Alex of his entire experience in the NYZ where, despite his attempts in curing the virus, the public feared him and the military attacked him in every possible way.

However, the morning had instantly soured Alex's attitude towards the Claymore and he simply refused to go near the woman.

"I'm telling you, something's just off about her,"

"Right and we're absolutely normal,"

"No, you don't understand, she's . . . something else,"

"She'll help us find them and we'll just help her kill them. Side's, don't you wanna see one of those ladies in action,"

"No," Alex said in a stern voice, "I'd really prefer it if I just go hunting for the things myself before we talk to her,"

Cole gave mischievous sneer, "Yeesh Mercer, you were jumpy. What's the real reason buddy? Got some blood goin' down under?"

Alex scowled, "Be serious Macgrath, she's a biological super soldier built to kill monsters. She's bound to have something wrong with her mind,"

Cole opened his mouth to say something, but refrained from speaking. It would have been somewhat rude to comment further seeing how Alex wasn't very fond of his origins.

"If yuh want, we could just split up,"

Alex shrugged, "Could work, just don't give too much away. If she asks why we're helping, just say we have experience with hunting Yoma,"

"Sounds good." Cole said waving off his travel companion to which Alex took his chance and doubled back to the crime scene.

Cole shook his head, wondering what could have gone through the virus' mind before starting up towards a wall to get to higher ground. Perhaps Alex did have a point, though. He, like Alex, had no idea what Claymores were like . . . maybe it was best to side on the air of caution. Then again . . .

"Meh," Cole said as he eyed another foothold, "Besides, what's the worst that could happen,"

Once he made it up to the top, Cole stretched in anticipation. The familiar feeling of rough stones was comforting and the medieval techniques used to make the walls made them uneven with some sticking out. It was almost like an adventure just finding the little nooks and crannies that he could use.

He jumped up and down several times, making sure that each time he pressed his foot against the tiled rooftops to feel the texture below him. Smooth yet sturdy enough to hold him; that put a smile on his face. With that knowledge in place, he took a running head start towards the edge and leaped to the other side.

As his body reached the other side, he pulled himself into a roll to keep his momentum and pushed towards the other side. Small bumps and pillars in the roof kept the run interesting, forcing him to weave and jump around the obstacles set in front of him. Again, another roof was cleared and the conduit jumped up to the next roof.

Cole gave a smirk as he cleared roof after roof and conquered the medieval terrain around him. To be fair, it had been a while since he had done something like this. For the last three months, every time he had been on a rooftop running was either because he was being shot at or he was chasing someone that would turn to shoot at him. Granted, he was appreciative of the newer tricks he had received with his powers like the ability to grind on power-lines, float long distances, or just the plain old ice jump. Those just added a whole new level of excitement that gave thrills he had never felt in the first place.

That said though, it was still nice to have the roofs to himself. It was certainly the most nostalgic thing he had before everything.

Before the Blast and the chaos that came with it.

Cole felt something jerk at him a little. While the chaotic three months had worn him down, it did sort of help dull some of the things that had gone on. He caused a plague that could have wiped out all life on Earth, he nearly caused an arms race of conduits to completely over take the planet, and he changed the lives of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of lives all because his future self needed him to fight.

And now that the dust had settled, those powers he just been thinking about seemed more bittersweet than anything else.

Cole shook his head, looking left and right, trying to find the landmark designating the middle of the town. Once it was in his sights, he bolted towards the roof but skidded to a stop upon reaching the edge of the roof.

"Whoa," he said noting the distance. It wasn't that far, especially with his thrusters and his ice jump, but the busy streets below would have seen him in a heartbeat. If he wanted to go fast enough over with the thrusters, he would have needed to have been on a power-line for momentum. But there were no power-lines or even electricity to boost himself. He'd have to drop down and walk to the building and then climb back up.

Or . . .

Cole hopped in place and stopped to stretch his legs. He pulled his foot backwards, letting the heel of his right and left foot touch the back of his leg. A few more seconds passed as he gave a few more hops, jumping from one foot to the other in preparation.

He turned away from the edge and walked several steps. Finally, after the getting a feel again for the roof under him, he bolted straight for the landmark and jumped at the last instance with his foot pushing off of the cornered edge.

He had some good air; great air in fact. From that jump alone, he was crossing at least a 30 feet gap and it surprised him even further when he found himself going higher and higher. In fact, he nearly flew straight over his intended roof, landing into a roll and nearly pulling over to the other side of the roof. Cole looked up as laid there with his back towards the ground.

"Well that's nice," Cole said both relieved and shocked how much stronger physically he had become. In the earlier battle with the Yoma, Cole almost felt light and free, allowing him to dodge and weave around the Yoma easily without a care. He wasn't just stronger power-wise, he was physically stronger as well.

Before Cole could further ponder on his new found strength, he stood up neither caring nor bothering to think about his newer abilities. Most of the time, others usually did the scientific observations, not him. Alex would probably know what was happening.

Thus his attention turned to the somewhat taller building that situated itself in the general middle of the town. He jumped, using his stronger legs to get an early boost, and climbed straight to the top with no fatigue what so ever.

"Hmm," Cole said quickly reaching the top without even breaking a sweat, "easier than I thought."

Indeed, even looking back, he didn't even breathe heavy from fighting a 2 on 1 battle against a super powered demon. It seemed like as if he was going to have to have quite a lot of questions by the end of the day.

His mind focused yet again as he stood atop the flat roof the tall building. Preparing himself, Cole finally sent out a pulse of electricity, in an attempt to look for the Yoma's or at least the Claymore's presence. However, something else seemed to come back and stopped him in his tracks.

As the pulse came back he could feel a presence behind him and moving towards him at high speeds.

With the intent to kill

A quick turn to the side barely gave him enough time to dodge a silver sword that threatened to cut him in half. However, once that occurred, his reflexes forced him to move more and more as the cold and calculated assault continued to hack away at him. By the fifth swing of the sword, Cole finally managed to pull out his tuning fork shaped Amp out in front of him and parry an attack only for another slash to make its mark on his arm. A pair of golden eyes stared back at him as his combatant moved back.

"Holy shit," Cole exclaimed looking at the Claymore, "The hell was that for,"

She calmly shifted her weight, easily holding up the heavy blade that most men would barely be able to carry.

"You've got the scent of a Yoma and your reflexes aren't human," Her voice, while not slimy and disgusting like Sasha's or as dark and gritty as Kesslar's, was as close to a chilling growl as the human voice could get. It was emotionless, lifeless, and filled with hatred.

"I could say the same for you," Cole said keeping his amp up defensively. He wasn't going to let her get the jump on him again.

"It's pointless to hide now, just reveal yourself,"

Cole smirked, "Sorry, I don't take off my pants for just any woman you know,"

Upon hearing that, the blond haired warrior scowled at Cole, pushing herself forward and swinging her sword down.

Cole jumped back, noting the distance from the edge and smashing his amp up to meet her sword when the next strike came. She followed it up with an onslaught of slashes and Cole tried dodging most of the blows and parrying only one or two hits.

By the fifth cut, Cole was starting to see that the title of super soldier wasn't just a misnomer. He could barely keep up with the Claymore's movements and her combat training was nothing to laugh at. Once another swing at his head came, he dashed backwards putting himself right on the edge of the roof.

"Shit," finally noticing his position, "Guess dating's out of the question?"

The Claymore looked at him more annoyed than confused, "You talk too much,"

Cole rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yea, I already got a guy that tells me that."

She continued forward and sent a wide slash to his chest. He pulled the amp up just in time, only to find the momentum of the sword pushing him off the building, all the way into the crowded street below.

"Holy –!"

His voice, luckily, made it into the ears of the hapless villagers below him and ran immediately out of his way. As he made it to the ground, his rolling figure crashed into a wooden stall and knocked the numerous vegetable out of their boxes.

"Ugh," Cole plucked the cabbage leaf off of his head, "Least I'm not dead,"

"That can be arranged,"

The familiar sword of the Claymore came down on him, threatening to split him in two, but before it did so, Cole instinctively grabbed the blade in between his hands. Both put a struggle to overpower the other, but the blade did not budge an inch.

"I don't suppose I can just say sorry?"

She growled even more furiously, veins popping out from her forehead, "Shut . . . up"

Before anything could be done, a loud crash drew the two combatant's attention away from each other and to a cloud of dusty smoke. At first, nothing seemed to stir but suddenly, the disheveled figure of a teen stumbled out, his face filled with a look of despair.

"Please you have to help me!" he said pointing behind him, "Some monster is chasing me!"

A gruff voice responded, "Shut the fuck up you god damn rat."

Another figure's form came out, instantly recognized by Cole. It was Alex with his ever present scowl and hood, though this time he seemed far more annoyed than the last Cole had seen him.

The Claymore, like the many citizens standing around watching Cole's initial fall, gave Alex and the man both a look of sheer confusion. Alex returned that same look to both her and Cole. He specifically gave the conduit a snide grin.

"Told you,"

Cole rolled his eyes, "It's just a misunderstanding,"

"Looks more like she's ready to slice you in two,"

It was at this point, the Claymore had pull her blade away from Cole, much to his relief, and aimed it instead towards Alex, which then caused Cole alarm.

"What's going on?" she demanded causing the virus to give an annoyed look.

"I just did your job, woman. That kid's a Yoma and you can check it for yourself,"

Still skeptical, she turned to face the boy still within a state of shock. His eyes spelled fear as she stared into them and soon almost hypnotically, the boy never noticed the Claymore place her hands on the boy's face. She pulled him in closer and for a second, she remained still and unmoving.

But she simply let him go and at that, the boy fell to the ground.

"He is not a Yoma,"

Alex's eyes widened, "What? He smells just like them."

"Smell does not identify a yoma fully," as she said this, the boy stood to walk away but she stopped him in his tracks, "however, you may not leave yet."

The boy did as he was told, Alex and Cole giving the Claymore looks as she forced him to sit down. When she turned, the same unemotional visage they had seen early that day.

"So then," she said coldly, "You two are the 'Yoma Hunters' the village leader was talking about."

Cole gave a look to Alex, but the virus failed to respond, ". . . uh," Cole rubbed the back of his head, "Yea?"

The claymore sighed.

"I'm also assuming that you're willing to help?"

Cole smiled, "Hell yea, when do we-"

She raised her hand to stop Cole from continuing and he followed the warrior's unspoken command.

"Judging by your . . . abilities, I suppose you can be an asset," she pointed to the boy, "That smell, while it may not truly identify a Yoma, it does tell us that he's been in frequent contact with one."

Alex still glared at her, staying as the unmoving statue of a paranoid monster staring down a different creature of sorts. Cole stepped in for the virus.

"Ok then, let's get this show on the road,"

If there was any confusion within the Claymore, she did not show anything at that moment. She sheathed her sword and nodded.

"Once we are done," She turned her head, drilling daggers into Cole's eyes with her own silver orbs, "we're all going to have a talk,"

For a moment, Cole looked at the Claymore's eyes unfazed by the woman's gaze. But a second later, he smiled back in confidence.

"Gladly,"

HOLY FUCK FINALLY ITS OUT

Sorry for the wait, I literally got my computer reset completely and I had to rewrite the entire third chapter.

OH WELL, ITS FINALLY OUT.

As you guys can tell, I have sort of revamped the story and set it in a clearer direction than before. This is because I've gotten somewhat better at writing and understanding plot development. I want the story to include Claire from the beginning so that we can see the build up with Cole and Claire.

I also never got to build up the hidden enemy the first time around so, as you can tell, I'm doing plenty of that to hype up the eventual battles that will come.

Also, I finally got rid of that FUCKING "LET'S BE HERO" talk. Dear GOD that was cheesy as fuck. I really did not know what to do to get the together properly. Now that I have a reason for them to stick together without going OC on them, I can finally show a proper Alex and Cole while still showing them grow together as a team.

Anyways PLEASE REVIEW

BY THE WAY

THE POLL FINALLY ENDED AND THE PAIRING FOR ALEX IS

*drumroll*

Luciela

Because of this, I will change up some of what Luciela's personality was made up to be. I'll keep the core focus, but I think the changes will help make things 1. More natural and 2. Less awkward.