Here we go, chapter 13 people.

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Enjoy.

Teresa woke to the gentle, calming sound of nature flooding her small room. She heard the birds tweeting and the wind gently rustling the leaves of trees as she opened her eyes to see the sun's brilliant rays illuminate the entire room, reflecting off the wooden surface as it brought a gentle warmness on her skin.

Teresa remembered those four mysterious figures standing on that Cliffside, as they headed towards the Southwest. She would have chased them, but not even she could have caught up to them from that far away.

I wonder if they are a connection to Clare. I have no other leads, so I may as well keep heading Southwest… or… was Clare one of them? She thought as she felt herself getting excited as a warm smile beamed on her face.

Teresa threw the white blanket off her body as she sat on the side of the bed. She wanted to wake as early as possible, but to her surprise it was rather late for her standards. The sun shown brilliantly strong, as it was high up in the sky. She doesn't remember a time in her life that she woke up so late. But it seemed that her body was more exhausted last night than she previously believed, demanding more sleep than usual and those three thugs last night certainly didn't help.

Teresa rubbed her eyes as she put on her pair of boots she placed against her bed the night before. She saw the cupboard totally destroyed and one the walls damaged. She couldn't help but think that there are many victims out there who cannot defend themselves as easily as she could.

Teresa walked over to her claymore, placed it on the holster in her back and then grabbed her cloak as she wrapped it around her body. The last thing she wanted was for people to be frightened of her, she actually liked to feel recognized… even if they are fooled into thinking that she is human.

Teresa picked up the broken door and placed it against the wall as she walked out to the lobby. The innkeeper gave her a worried look as he saw her approach him.

"Miss… I heard some strange noises last night, is everything all right?"

"Yes everything is fine, however you will find that there is some damage to the room. The money I gave you should more than cover for the damages." She smiled gently.

The innkeeper wanted to ask the mysterious young lady in the cloak what happened, but brought himself not to. It was not his business and she obviously didn't want to talk about it either.

"Would you like your breakfast now?" he asked her kindly.

"Just give me some bread and I'll be on my way"

"Just bread? Are you sure?" he asked giving her a confused look.

"I'm not very hungry"

The man walked to a small room behind the counter and returned with a loaf of bread in his hands.

"Here you go miss"

"Thank you for the room" she replied

"Stay safe" the man waved to Teresa as she began to walk out of the hotel.

Teresa stopped at the door and turned her head to face the innkeeper. "Oh and don't forget about security, there should be enough for that too" She added.

"thank you young lady" he replied.

Young lady?… I'm flattered.

Teresa continued to follow the same pathway she was following yesterday before she stopped to rest in this small town. She only walked for a few minutes before she exited the small town and once again entered the forest to continue her journey towards the Southwest as she approached the western lands.

If I remember correctly, I should be approaching the city of Rabona soon. Is that where the mysterious figures ran off to? It sounds doubtful, but if they found a way to enter unnoticed, it would be the perfect hideout.

The ghosts made their way south of Rabona towards their secret training facility hidden between two hills. Miria had made them wake extra early, probably due to her paranoia about this new strange warrior. She clearly told them last night that there was just no way they could topple to organization when they have that kind of power at their disposal. She said that it would take many years of training before they become strong enough.

Miria explained exactly what happened, and briefly described the warrior. Clare thought that this was strange…if indeed this was a warrior of the organization, how could she be so powerful? Even after the seven years of training they had in the north, the organization still managed to be one step ahead of them.

Clare couldn't care less about this new warrior though. Even though Miria obviously feared her, Clare didn't. There were always warriors coming and going from the organization, and she figured the new warrior would probably meet her demise soon.

Finally the two hills were in sight, as the ghosts got ever closer. The facility was seemed too perfect. Two large hills covered each side, and the land in between the hills was below sea level, so it acted like a giant trench. The outside of the facility was covered in thick trees and bushes, while the inside was an oasis full of fresh green grass and a small lake. The thick trees on the outside prevented anyone from even knowing of the inside.

As the ghosts made their way through the thick jungle of trees, they finally entered the interior of the hideout. The place looked like it was untouched by anyone, besides a few scratches on trees and some marks they left in the soil. The interior was so enormous, it would probably take an half an hour to walk from one side to another.

"Ok, so who's ready to get their butt kicked?" Helen joked as she pulled her claymore from its holster.

Miria turned to face her squad as she began to speak:

"We will spend most of our days here training. Fight with whoever you want, just make sure you don't kill each other."

The rest of the ghosts began to spread out in small groups while Tabitha and Galatea stayed behind.

"Hey Galatea, don't you have a church to attend?" Tabitha questioned, turning to the blind warrior.

"It's my day off, besides Miria asked me to warn her if a warrior approaches this facility"

Tabitha replied "If Miria was referring to that warrior we saw yesterday it's useless, I could barely feel her yoki even when I focused directly at her"

Galatea remained silent, she knew that Tabitha was right. Even though Galatea was a little better at detecting yoki, the difference wasn't huge. So if Tabitha couldn't detect anything then chances are she wouldn't either, and especially not in a place like this. She tried to explain this to Miria but she wouldn't have any of it. Miria asked her to be here and detect incoming warriors, and especially the one she feared most.

It has been a few hours since Teresa left for her journey. She finally left the thick mangled forest an hour ago and began seeing green plains, which increased her field of view greatly. The wind began to pick up ever since she left the shelter of the forest, and it playfully tried to blow away her cloak as she held it down with one arm. The grass around her was thick and the hills plentiful, but not very steep. The area was full of colorful flowers and butterflies that fluttered around her. Teresa was surprised at herself when she attempted to playfully catch one, smiling like that little girl she used to be so long ago.

She surprised herself further when she realized she was avoiding stepping on the pretty flowers with her heavy boots. She let out a giggle as she realized how much she has changed, how much Clare has changed her. She never would have cared about such petty things before.

Suddenly the peace and serenity was interrupted when Teresa felt the presence of two of the organization's warriors. Either they were trying to hide their yoki, or they were just weak was difficult to say at this moment, so she began to approach them as she felt them walking towards her from the north.

After a while she saw the two figures cross a hill as they were heading towards her. Teresa confirmed that they must have been low ranking warriors, as their yoki auras were quite small and insignificant. The two warriors saw the figure in the brown cloak, and passed it off as a human as they could sense no yoki at all. Teresa could see that they tried t go around her but she walked towards them anyway. The two warriors stopped to face the hooded figure as she walked right up to them.

"What is it you want human?" one of them grunted.

Teresa remembered that she didn't have any yoki suppressant pills. Either Rubel forgot to give her some, or he intentionally didn't give them. She smiled at the idea of robbing these two warriors of their suppressant pills.

Since when did Teresa have to resort to scavenging for suppressant pills? She laughed.

"I would like to take your yoki suppressant pills"

At the sound of a female voice, one of the warriors replied looking surprised:

"How do you know of such things woman?"

"Just give them to me" Teresa warned.

"I don't think so, run along before you get hurt" the other scolded.

"I'm sorry but I need those pills, I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

The two looked dumbfounded as they heard those words, when suddenly in a flash, the cloaked figure faded into the wind and appeared behind them as she knocked them both on the head simultaneously, rendering them unconscious as they collapsed to the ground.

As the two warriors lay there motionless, Teresa reached for the small compartment in their armour and pulled out a few suppressant pills. She placed them in her own compartment and began to walk off.

They should be awake in a few hours…

Teresa left the two warriors, and continued on her journey towards the Southwest. As she reached the top of a small hill, there before her eyes stood the Grand city of Rabona off to the distance. As she stood in awe, a sudden strong breeze blew off her hood revealing her golden wavy hair as it danced in the wind.

The majestic city stood out like no other among these lands, especially because of it's sheer size and magnificence. This was the city of the fortunate, the rich. Rabona was the biggest and richest settlements of all the lands.

Teresa wondered if Clare was hiding within the city. She continued to stand there for a little while embracing the wind as she held on to her cloak, in an attempt to stop it from blowing away.

Just a little longer Clare…

Teresa pulled the hood back onto her head as she strolled down the hill towards the city of Rabona smiling.

Teresa knew that Rabona would never allow her kind within it's walls, she was just planning to break in silently without any of the guards noticing. However, the unfortunate warriors she ran into suddenly made it much easier for her.

A short while passed as she crossed the vast plains moving at a faster pace than before, excited to meet her Clare. She swallowed a suppressant pill a few minutes ago, as she was heading ever closer to the main gate. She removed her hood, revealing her face, whilst making sure her cloak was covering her warrior's suit and claymore on her back. As she approached the gate, there stood a few guards in knights armour inspecting people as they entered the city. Teresa noticed that a few people were wearing cloaks similar to hers, so there would be no reason why they would ask her to remove hers.

As Teresa reached the gate, a young guard approached her. He was wearing light armour with blonde hair worn in a pigtail. Next to him stood a bigger man in a full suit of armour holding a large sword. They both eyed her suspiciously as the rest of the guards inspected the other people that passed.

"State your business here" the younger man ordered.

Teresa responded calmly "I am here to meet an old friend"

The larger guard eyed her cloak as he noticed she was hiding something behind her back. Teresa tried her best to hide her claymore underneath her cloak before she arrived, but it seems that the man has discovered it despite her best efforts.

"Please remove your cloak lady," He ordered.

Dam it… if they see my claymore they'll send me away… and my cover will be blown… I have no choice but to comply.

Teresa slowly began to open her cloak revealing her grey warriors suit and a large claymore holstered on her back. The two guard's eyes widened in amazement as they gazed upon the claymore while the others began pulling out their weapons. However Teresa was surprised when they didn't send her away. Both of them let out a smile as the smaller one began to speak:

"Put your cloak back on and come with me"

The other larger guard turned to face the others and told them that everything was alright, bringing relief to their worried faces as they sheathed their swords reluctantly.

As Teresa followed the two guards into the city, she had no idea what was going on, but she didn't care. Whatever reason these two guards had to escort her into the city was irrelevant to her. She planned on disappearing the moment a large crowd passed by them, but was surprised when the two guards let her to an empty street.

"My name is Sid, and this is Galk" the younger man informed.

"We know that you swallowed a suppressant pill," Galk added.

What is going on? How do they know about the suppressant pills? And why are they so welcoming to someone like me in a place like this?

"I believe that there are four former warriors that are hidden within this city" Teresa revealed.

Sid looked at her suspiciously, eyeing her closely as he replied:

"Well we didn't request for a claymore to come to this city, and your not wearing your full armour… so I can only presume that you are here unofficially… am I right?"

Teresa was lost for words as she looked at these two men. They obviously have met a claymore before, seeing as they know so much. She decided to just ask them directly about Clare.

"I am looking for a former warrior named Clare"

She could see Sid react to that name positively as he let out a smile. Teresa hoped for the best as she awaited his answer.

"I might know of a warrior by that name" he replied cheekily.

"What is your business with that warrior?" Galk questioned.

Teresa looked away for a moment unsure of what to say. She wanted to make up some lie, but she was just to excited to think of one. She desperately wanted to meet Clare and these two guys were her link to her.

"I'm just someone Clare knew a long time ago…" she replied softly.

"Very well, it can be safe to assume that your not here to kill her since you seem to have arrived unofficially, we will take you to her"

Teresa couldn't help but let out a pleasant smile as her soul jumped for joy. She was never so excited in her life. She cannot believe that she finally found Clare. The odds were stacked against her, but it seems that she has found that little child.

Little child… I keep forgetting she's all grown up now.

Sid and Galk led her through the crowded streets of Rabona as she continued to disguise herself in her cloak. They led her to the middle of the city where the large temple stood.

A temple?

"Father Vincent knows of her whereabouts, me and Galk are not sure exactly where Clare is" Sid spoke as the three entered the front gates of the large temple. There stood a bold haired man wearing standard priest's clothing talking to a citizen. At the sight of Sid and Galk, the father finished his conversation and made his way to the three. Teresa removed her hood and the father immediately recognized her as a claymore, even though her eyes returned back to their normal color a while ago.

He let out a gentle smile as he turned to face Teresa.

"So what do we have here?"

"Another warrior father, she seeks Clare" Galk returned.

Father Vincent turned to face the new claymore warrior and spoke:

"Welcome to the holy city of Rabona"

Teresa didn't know how to reply, she never had to deal with a situation like this, and she certainly never had to speak to a man of God before. So she just stood there awkwardly.

"My name is Teresa… t..Thank you father" she forced out after a brief silence.

Father Vincent turned around to face a mini statue of Teresa and Clare within the temple as he softly spoke. "Clare once saved this very temple from a yoma and saved the lives of many of our priests and guards"

Clare…

He turned to face Teresa as he noticed a slight tear develop in one of her eyes and a light smile develop on her face, as he continued:

"We hide ten former warriors within these walls, I believe they have gone south somewhere. They don't tell me exactly where it is they go, but I know that it is south… if you like you can wait here for them to return"

Teresa turned around to face the blue sky outside of the temple as she thought of Clare.

"No, I think I'll go south and find her myself".