Disclaimer: Do not own!
AN: Please enjoy the chapter :)
Orchamus: That's ok :) It was a good try. Clare's going to develop differently, with a different location and with Flora still alive. Thanks for reviewing :)
crazy88: Thanks :) I'm not to sure what to do at the moment with her partial Awakening, it probably won't show up for a while, Thanks for reviewing :)
marc: Thank you so much :) All the Awakened beings had moved on, they were needed to go and assault the West and the East respectively, plus none of them expected Rigardo to have any trouble with the Claymores. I figured that the Organisation would send a squad of Claymores to keep an eye on the battle, and I originally had a small scene where Noah tracked them down and killed them, but I scrapped it :) Thanks so much for reviewing :)
kyuubicannon: Thanks for pointing that out :) I went and fixed it :) Thanks so much for reviewing :)
storyreaderlovespie: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it, and thanks for reviewing :)
DBZLOVER: Thanks :) and thanks for reviewing :)
algebraiya: Thanks and I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks for reviewing :)
Freehawk: Thanks a lot :) Thanks for reviewing.
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
You are sweet and tender
(Ton odeur à toi, mon amour, mon amour)
You fill my senses, you fill my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Des ombres de bleu et de violet
Shades of blue, shades of purple
Des ombres de bleu et de violet
Shades of blue, shades of purple
Les champs de lavande
Ton odeur à toi, mon amour
Est l'odeur de lavande
Est l'odeur de lavande
~Les Champs De Lavande, Leaves' Eyes
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It took several days for them to move out of the North territory and into the West, with the unconscious Claymores weighing them down. They woke up after the second day of running, but Uma, Cynthia and Queenie had to be carried, and Zelda and Tabitha were still wounded enough to slow them down.
It was an uncomfortable trip, with Noah constantly flitting around them like a ghost. Most of the partially Awakened group had no problem with him, but his presence made the others anxious, particularly Undine. Several times she'd gone to attack him and only found herself cutting through empty air, the sound of the boy's laughter echoing around the desolate landscape.
They'd reached the beginning of the Western mountain ranges when they felt a massive yoki aura blooming to the south-west. Clare paled slightly as she recognised it.
Riful
Noah turned to face the warriors, "There's a cave a few hundred metres up ahead, go in there and don't come out until I return." He didn't give any of them time to answer before he leaped into the air and disappeared in an enormous burst of yoki, large enough become visible and send ripples of red energy across the sky.
They all stared for a second, amazed at how fast the Abyssal had moved, before Miria started to lead them towards the cave Noah had mentioned. Not even Undine was protesting the decision.
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"It's been a long time, Dauf." The enormous dark-red Awakened being looked at others surrounding him, at least twelve other Awakened beings.
Dauf glanced at the speaker dismissively, which caused the four-eyed being to tense in anger, "It looks like the former Number Three has fallen on hard times, hiding out here in the wastelands. Isley, Rigardo and you never got along, even before the Mass Awakening."
Dauf looked at him, "I'm surprised Rigardo even agreed to work with you guys."
"Yeah, he used to think of himself as Isley's superior, he even tracked him down and challenged him to a fight after Awakening. Isley beat the pulp out of him, and he pledged his loyalty to Isley and became his general. You would've have had a place in the ranks, but you rebelled and ran off with that girl from the West-" There was a sickening crunch as a thick pole smashed through the Awakened beings skull.
Dauf closed his mouth, "Sorry, your talking was so boring, it made me yawn."
The other Awakened beings glared and muttered, some of them uncoiling and extending their tendrils in preparation for battle.
There was a loud whoosh as dozens of ribbon like tendrils stabbed through the Awakened beings. A soft, child-like giggle rang out from Dauf's shoulder, "You don't seem to get it . . . Isley and me, we're so far above the rest of you . . ."
"Riful of the West." An Awakened being, spiralling horns adorning its head, tore free of the Abyssal One's tendrils and dashed forwards. It managed to get within a few feet of Dauf before the former Number Three lashed out and removed its head from its shoulders. The head bounced several times, before more of Riful's tendrils pinned it to the ground.
Riful smiled innocently at the rest of the terrified Awakened beings, "You're just pawns to us, something to use and throw away." And with that, she twisted her Awakened arm, and ripped the Awakened beings to shreds.
"You're such a cynical little girl."
Riful turned her head to look as Noah dropped from the sky to land on Dauf's other shoulder. "Did you enjoy your little trip to the North?"
Noah glanced around at the splattered corpses of Isley's army, "It was a success, Isley's forces were thinned out, and Rigardo is dead."
Riful tilted her head as she looked at him, a flicker of surprise running through her eyes, "Congratulations. Isley's lost almost all of his forces now, you know."
Noah smiled, "Apart from the One-Horned woman."
They both turned to look towards the South as several massive bursts of yoki drew their attention. Both of them leapt into the air, Riful's tendrils trailing behind for a second as they caught and dragged Dauf behind her as he transformed into human form.
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"I've wanted to see you for so long, and I wanted to apologise. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Luciela pulled her sister closer, tears streaming down her face, "No, It's not your fault. It's-"
"Now, isn't this a touching scene?"
Rafaela quickly stood, pushing the weakened Luciela behind her. She regretted dropping her sword, but she wasn't defenceless without it.
A boy stepped out from behind a tree, and Rafaela frowned. He was hiding his yoki even better than she was able to, and that meant that he was a fairly old Awakened being. The possibility of him being human was laughable, no human would be able to sneak up on her, even with her as distracted as she was.
"Who are you?" Luciela called out from behind her sister.
He smiled, "I don't really think that matters at the moment." He blurred out of sight, and the last thing either of the women saw was a pair of glowing green eyes.
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Riful landed without a sound, Dauf dropping to the ground with a thump behind her. Isley and Luciela's battle had ravaged the landscape for miles, and there were clouds of dust floating around the battle field.
Riful blinked slowly as another form dropped out of the sky behind Isley, who was kneeling, bloody and battered on the ground. It was a young girl, dressed in a snow white dress, with short spiky hair, she rested her hand on Isley's back.
The silver haired Abyssal One relaxed slowly, and Riful narrowed her eyes. She had a suspicion who this girl was, and if she was right, then she was going to need Noah.
Isley smiled triumphantly, "It's too late . . . . my objective was already complete the second I started the fight with Luciela. It's futile now. No matter how many strong Awakened beings you gather, no matter how many strong warriors the Organisation creates." Isley raised his head to look at her as Prisclla stopped supressing her powers. Riful felt a quiver of fear, the girl's powers surpassed even her own. "It's all too late."
"No one can kill Priscilla now."
The two Abyssal Ones stared at each other, until Riful threw back her head and laughed.
Isley scowled at the young looking girl, and with Priscilla's help, pulled himself to his feet. "I don't see how any of this is funny."
Riful's laughter slowly died away, "I think you're overestimating your pet, you know."
Isley's scowled deepened, but then disappeared when he caught sight of a silhouette moving in the dust clouds behind Riful and Dauf. The figure moved forwards until it stood next to Riful, and Isley's confusion just increased at the sight of the boy.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Isley, Silver-White King of the North." The boy smiled slightly as he bowed mockingly.
"Who are you?" Isley clenched a fist. Prisclla was more than strong enough to kill Riful and her two Awakened minions, but something about this boy put him on edge.
The boy smiled, "I am former Number One, Noah." Riful and Noah uncloaked their yoki and the sheer size of it was overwhelming, almost forcing Dauf to his knees.
Isley gritted his teeth, "That's impossible! The whole continent would have felt the Awakening of a new Abyssal One!" Priscilla was beginning to tense, and the situation was spiralling out of control.
Riful's eyes were beginning to glow red with all of the power she was releasing, "So much for for your grand plan. Defeating Luciela may have been the smart move, but with Noah, your plans fallen apart, you know?"
Isley growled at them, and started to transform again, pulling as much yoki together as he could, when suddenly Priscilla grabbed him. He barely had time to glance at her before they were moving through the sky at incredible speeds.
Back at the Abyssal battlefield, Noah and Riful allowed their yoki to fade away, cloaking it once again. The brown haired girl looked at the other Abyssal One, "You took your time, you know. What were you doing?"
Noah started walking away, and Riful hurried to catch up, with Dauf ambling along behind her.
"Just in case I didn't get here in time, and Isley's so-called 'subordinate'." He gave Riful a withering look, which she just shrugged off. How was she to know the stories were false? "Tore you apart, I wanted to have a back up plan."
Riful glared at him lightly, but she had to concede the point. If Priscilla had attacked straight away, there's no telling if she would have survived. That girl was a monster.
She huffed quietly, "So what's your back up plan?"
Noah led them through the forest, down to a shallow stream. He pointed to one of the two prone bodies lying on the banks of the stream, "She is."
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
Thanks for reading :) Because no one managed to guess the manga (Negima? By the way) I'm not giving anyone is particular the prize. But, if people leave recommendations for pairings and fandoms in their reviews, I'll try and write some one shots.
If theres anything that doesn't make sense, leave it in a review, and I'll pm or answer it in the next chapter. This chapter was kind of a filler chapter, so its a bit shorter than normal.
Phoenix