It was unbelievably fun writing this chapter. Then again I was on a sugar high on a Saturday night when I wrote most of this, so everything seemed fun at the time. Hey if your mom is big on the whole Easter egg thing when your all "I am way to old for this crap", you would enjoy the night you have to yourself before you're humiliated. Only good thing is you get to boil the piss out of those damn eggs before you do anything with them (I like fire... no I'm not psycho, honest). The idea of making artwork for this thing as been bugging be for awhile. I don't want to get involved for a few reasons. 1.) I tried drawing characters from Claymore before and you have no idea how much I suck. 2.) I'm already working on another artwork project I was stupid enough to get into. 3.) I'm just to damn lazy and I think it's a waste of ink and paper. Well I hope you enjoy this update, as always.

PS: With the whole "Deneve has a way with animals" thing, I just thought it would suit her. She's not a very social character and well from personal experience animals can see threw any kind of wall you build around your emotions. So yes, I am saying that somewhere in that stone heart Deneve's, is an incredibly nice person.

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Clarice let out a sigh as she tried to make herself comfortable on the forest floor with half of Miata on her lap. Miata had insisted that they kept moving ever since they left Rabona. The girl had recently worn herself out and allowed them to rest. The mid afternoon sun beat down on them without mercy. Even in the shade they couldn't escape its heat. Clarice brushed off a bead of sweat that had formed on her brow. The burnet was utterly exhausted from traveling non stop for so long.

Something was bothering Miata. She kept picking her head up and looking around nervously and then reluctantly setting her head back down on Clarice's lap. Clarice didn't bother to ask what the matter was because she knew she wouldn't get a straight answer out of her. A bush across from them rustled violently. Miata jumped up and snatched her sword up. Clarice didn't do anything because she knew for sure it couldn't be a youma or anything that would be a real threat.

Sure enough a dog crept its way out of the bushes carrying the bloody corpse of a ferret in its powerful jaws. No, it wasn't a dog. It was too big to be a dog but to small to be a wolf, but then again neither one of them had seen a wolf with their own eyes before. Clarice felt Miata relax as all possibilities of a threat faded. Slowly the girl lowered herself back into the softness of Clarice's lap.

The dog was frozen in its spot, eyeing the two of them. Clarice couldn't help but stare into its eyes, transfixed by their color. They were a pale blue, so pale they were almost silver like the eyes of a Claymore. Clarice smirked as she got a funny picture in her head. How ironic would it be if they put the flesh and blood of youma into dogs instead? After all weren't dogs were claimed to be man's best friend? It would be funny to see a cloaked man from the organization leading huge white dogs towards towns infected with youma and let them run around as they searched for the man eating creature. It would be too cruel to do that to perfectly innocent animals though. Then again wasn't it cruel to do that to humans as well? Being a Claymore you constantly feel the presence of something evil lurking in the depths of your soul. It changed you dramatically, physically and mentally. Eventually all Claymores either die, or awaken. Awakening is just like dying, it sucks away every shred of your humanity, only your memories before the incident remain. You never know how much time you have left. Clarice thought solemnly.

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It was a conversation Priscilla had with Raki often. 'Is there anyway to turn you back into a human, or even a Claymore?' He would demand. 'No.' she was forced to say over and over. It would usually end there but sometimes Raki would press her knowledge farther, but he would always find defeat in his theory of turning her back into a human. Perhaps there was a way to turn her back but Priscilla didn't have any knowledge of such methods. It was weird, awakening was supposed to erase you humanity but yet Priscilla found she still had some. Of course awakened beings could act like humans, seeing as they were once one.

Priscilla was different. She never pretended to act like a human, she just did. She would always bawl her eyes out when feasting on the guts of human beings, which was not normal. Priscilla had vowed to Raki never to eat human guts again. 'Maybe, you could eat animals instead of humans?' he has asked her once. 'It has to be human.' From then on Raki helped her keep her promise. He would always find a way to distract her when she had cravings. They were a team.

Now Priscilla felt the memories of their past teamwork blur as she fought with Teresa. Every minute she released more of her power, locking small bits of her true self away in the darkness where it would be forgotten for a long time. You never know how much time you'll have left. What was left of her humanity reminded her. It was true, and at this rate her time would run out much too soon.

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Teresa was beginning to tire quickly, Priscilla was too. They had fought one on one for what seemed to be hours. Will this fight never end? Teresa asked herself. It had to end, and there had to be a victor. Teresa wasn't going to let Priscilla be the lucky one. All of Priscilla's moves were based on instinct and fear. She was attacking blindly like a cornered rat would to a cat. Her new comrades didn't dare interfere with their fight; they're smarter than Teresa gives them credit for. She was surprised to see Clare standing off to the side as well. Wasn't she the one who had so much anger toward Priscilla?

Oh well, when this is all over I'll let Clare do the honors of lopping her head off. Teresa thought. Teresa found it easier to block as the awakened beings attack as the battle raged on. Teresa had fallen into a rhythm. Left, right, down, above, right… Priscilla's attacks were becoming too predictable as she became too tired to do much else than deliver simple jabs.

This was getting boring. Teresa found a break in Priscilla's rushed attacks and was able to detach one of her wings. They both stopped. Teresa watched Priscilla stare at her back in panic. "Looks like… you won't be… flying… anytime… soon." Teresa panted. Priscilla growled and lunged, but missed. Teresa sliced Priscilla's back right down the middle. Her back was her weak spot. Priscilla screamed a deafening inhuman cry as fuchsia blood poured from her back. She crouched on the ground like a cripple, trembling with fear and pain.

Before anyone could do anything else a cry rang out from the other side of their battlefield. Teresa cocked her head in the direction the noise came from. It was that brat. "Please just stop, I can't take it anymore!" he moaned. He slid off his horse, who was showing obvious signs of sheer terror in his eyes. "I've been searching for you from seven years Clare. If I had known you held such a grudge against Priscilla I still would have brought her anyway. It's not her fault Clare, none of this is Priscilla's fault. She killed Teresa only out of fear. Why can't anyone see that?"

Clare opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Teresa. "Excuse me but don't you see how much better off you are without this filth around young man?" she sighed. "It's only a matter of time before she looses control and kills you. You're lucky you've lived for this long. You're lucky you were able to even see Clare."

Raki shook his head franticly. "The real Priscilla wouldn't do that. She's just like you Clare; she had two sides to her."

Everyone froze at Raki's comment. Two sides? Awakened beings didn't have two sides. Or did they? "Young man, did you say that this girl… has two different personalities?" Miria asked. Yes, she had learned many things while she studied the organization. It wasn't abnormal for a Claymore to act differently when they partially awaken. Perhaps if Miria had met Clare, Helen, and Deneve before they had partially awakened, she would find herself knowing totally different people. It was a theory the Miria had always had. Maybe when one is on the verge of awakening, then is pulled back, they also take on the youma's personality. Then perhaps, Priscilla wasn't fully awakened.

"Yes, Priscilla has two very different sides to her." Raki conformed.

"Amazing." breathed Miria.

"Wait, but I saw her awaken right in front of me!" Clare said, shaking her head. There was no way anyone could have pulled her back."

They all stopped for a moment to look towards Priscilla. She was in her human form now, naked, drenched in her own blood, and utterly vulnerable. "Well I'm sure there is one person who might know what the hell is going on with Prissy here." Teresa said, glancing over her shoulder toward none other than Audrey. "I'm surprised you've stayed here, you had the perfect opportunity to run away."

Audrey swallowed, doing a good job of looking more confident than she felt. "I'm not a coward." she muttered blankly.

"Yeah well, I'll give you that much." Teresa said with her famous smile planted on her face.

"I said the next time I cross paths with you rebels, I won't hesitate to fight you."

"Wait, what about Priscilla?" Clare asked, glancing at Priscilla nervously. Raki was crouched down by her now, wrapping his cloak around her shoulders and trying to soothe her.

"We can't kill her now Clare. She's vital if we plan on finding a way to release ourselves from this… curse that was placed on us." Miria said with a troubled look on her face. She wasn't exactly fond of letting Priscilla survive. Clare gritted her teeth and zeroed her gaze on the vulnerable girl. Oh once you prove to be useless scum, just you wait… I'll make you wish you were never born. She thought to herself smugly

"Right, anyway." Teresa pointed her sword at Audrey. "I'll make a deal with you. You can either come with us peacefully, tell us everything we need to know, and then we'll let you go unharmed, sounds good doesn't it? Or we can do it the hard way and beat your ass into the ground until you beg for mercy. Now, what will it be missy?"

Audrey's eyes narrowed and she grasped the hilt of her sword. "I can't pass up an opportunity like this one. It'll give me a chance to test my abilities."

"Quite the stuck up one, aren't we?" Helen shouted. She had healed her wounds, but it was sloppy work seeing as she wasn't very skilled at healing. She could only manage to heal the skin to keep any more blood from escaping. Helen was standing, but it was doubtful she could manage anything else. Uma who was kneeling next to her was doing a more thorough job on her arm, carefully sealing up the muscle and cracks in the bone that had been made. "Ya made the wrong choice; you'll be going threw a whole lot of pain now."

"Very convincing Helen, seeing as you can barely stand." Deneve snorted, looking slightly amused.

"What'd you mean? I can fight!" Helen protested.

Miria cleared her throat, getting Deneve's and Helen's attention. "Helen, I would forbid you from fighting but you won't pay any attention to me anyway, so I'm not going to bother. The rest of you go all out on Audrey. Don't hold back, but keep in mind I want her alive."

Audrey felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She knew she wouldn't last long against all these warriors. You could out smart youma, seeing as they weren't very bright creatures. It was harder to outsmart warriors. With this bunch a theory like that was out of the question. They had been alive much longer than the average warrior. They knew every little trick in book. Oh well, if she was going down she was going down with pride at least.

Teresa made the first move. She dashed forward and made an attempt to smack Audrey in the head with the flat of her blade. Audrey managed to block it and send Teresa flying. As much as she wanted to she could harm Noel or Teresa, in was strictly against the organization's orders. "Bring them back unharmed, you know why." Yes, she knew why. It was a difficult task but someone had to do it. She would have to make an attempt to kill off the other warriors before she dealt with the two she was sent after. Audrey merely stood her ground and deflected any attack that came her way. When a few came at once she would occasionally move to avoid getting hit. She knew she couldn't keep this up for very long but she had to try.

Like she predicted, she didn't last very long. The warriors encircled her, so she tried to jump. Their leader Miria smacked her in the head when she came up, sending her plummeting to the ground. When Audrey came down someone caught her, and then she felt someone punch her in the gut, hard. It sent a small amount of blood up her throat and out of her mouth. Like she felt herself do once before, she fainted, leaving her venerable to the rebels.

"Quickly, someone get a suppressant!" Miria barked. Helen stepped forward and popped one into the warrior's mouth. She clamped Audrey's mouth shut so she was forced to bite in half. Noel, who was the one who caught Audrey, hoisted the woman onto her shoulder. "I'm not going to carry the bitch the whole way you know." she muttered.

"That's fine Noel, I was thinking about tying her to the boy's horse if he'll let us." Miria said looking over at the boy and a small smile crept onto her face. "Although, I don't think we'll get an answer out of him anytime soon."

That was because Raki was practically being hugged to death by Clare. They held each other tightly, more than glad to have each other back into their lives. Surprisingly it was Clare who was crying, not Raki. "All these years I've told myself you were alright, but the longer it took to find you the more I was afraid I was lying to myself." she sobbed. Poor Raki didn't know what to do. His face was a bright red and all he could manage to do is pat her softly on the back. Who knew Clare could be so emotional? "Clare…" he whispered. "I didn't know you doubted me this much." The boy managed to whisper. "Well, I'm alive if that's proof enough for you that I'm not weak like back then."

Suddenly Priscilla jumped up and pushed Raki away from Clare, despite the fact she could barely move. Clare drew her sword and pointed it at Priscilla, ready to attack. "Clare, put it away, now." Miria barked. The blonde hesitated, and then slowly put her sword back as if it pained her to do so. "Let me be the one to say that we all need to get along here." Raki said smiling. Clare ruffled his hair with her hand. "Smartass kid." she murmured. Priscilla was about to lunge at Clare but Raki held her back.

"My God will someone get that girl some clothes." Teresa sighed.

"Well I don't exactly see any spare outfits lying around on the ground Teresa." Miria snapped, who was obviously in a very bad mood. Teresa glared at Miria. "I'm not exactly fond of that tone you're using with me. Stop talking to me like you're my superior."

"Ah crap, well here we go again." Helen sighed. "Well it's better if they fight now while they're both rather tired." Deneve said. While they weren't watching she had soothed the terrified horse over to her. "Priscilla isn't in any condition to walk so she'll be riding on the horse with Audrey. Check your travel packs for some rope to tie Audrey up with, I'm sure at least one of you as some."

Sure enough Clare and Uma, who had finally healed her arm, found some and handed it over to Deneve. Deneve tied Audrey's hands and feet together than plopped her onto the horses back like a rag doll. She worked carefully to tie Audrey into saddle so she wouldn't slip and breaking threw the rope wouldn't be an option. Raki had convinced Priscilla to get on the horse behind Audrey. The instant the girl got on the horses back he attempted to bolt, not very pleased on having a monster on his back.

Deneve patted his neck and whispered nothing in particular in his ear until he clamed down. "The whole time I've known you I haven't seen this side of you before Deneve." Helen said, putting her hands on her hips. "Who knew you had a way with animals?" Deneve shrugged. "I guess I've always gotten along with them. Now about those two…"

Miria and Teresa were still going at it. "I didn't see you doing much on the battlefield." Teresa snarled, looking more and more like a feral cat that was ready to strike.

"That's because you were the one who was practically begging for a fight." Miria hissed, who was having her patience pushed to the limits.

"Oi, Oi!" Helen yelled over them. "We're getting ready to leave. If you don't stop screaming your heads off and acting immature any time soon we're gonna leave you behind."

Miria and Teresa glared at each other before they turned away. "Alright, we'll find a camping spot for tonight. After we all get some rest we'll search for a permanent one, well, one we could stay in until we get this mess straightened out anyway." Miria told her friends and comrades. "Once we've found our base camp we'll get the other teams and bring them there, alright?" The warriors nodded in agreement (not including Teresa). "Right, let's move out."

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"Looks like the fighting's stopped." said Galatea.

"That's a relief. What are the damages?" Tabatha asked Galatea.

"Helen is badly wounded, but it's not life threatening if she slows down and takes it easy. Uma's arm was shattered, but she managed to take care of that. She's a little weak from using so much of her yoki towards healing, but again she'll be fine is she takes it easy. Teresa is limping from a wound in her ankle, and Clare is a little weak from blood loss." Galatea explained.

"That many warriors took part in the fight? Wow, well it's a relief everyone is alright." Tabatha sighed, looking skyward.

"There's something I find disturbing though…" Galatea said with a troubled look on her face.

"Oh, what is that?"

"A warrior from the organization got involved and it appears that they gave her suppressants, knocked her out, and they're taking her with. Looks like they managed to get the awakened being to come with them as well."

"What?" Tabatha shot Galatea a sideways glance.

"Odd isn't it?" Galatea said smiling. "I suppose you want to go check it out?"

"Yes I do. Come one." Tabatha said, marching off towards the general area her friends were in. Galatea chuckled and followed her.