Number Zero
"I'm afraid I can't do much more for her," Father Vincent said sadly as he, Wiess, Sid and Galk watched Clare's bandaged body lie on the bed.
"Like I said, she's dying," Sid said without a care. "Treating her wont' do more than comfort her."
He crossed his arms and gave Wiess a wicked smirk. "It's just monsters and half-breeds killing eachother," he continued, not noticing that Wiess was getting continuously upset with what he was saying. "Nothing to get worked up about. Huh?"
He opened his eyes after his speech to see a fist in his face. Literally.
"Shut your mouth," Wiess said in a dangerously low voice as Sid shook off the effects of his powerful punch. "Shut your damn mouth. What do you know about Clare?!"
Sid got back to his feet and glared at the younger man.
"She's prepared to die fighting!" Wiess said. "She's risking her life to protect humans! Like your worthless self!"
"You little..." Sid hissed, throwing a punch.
It connected with Wiess' face, but the man didn't so much as move from the force of it. In fact, Sid's knuckles hurt greatly from it and he grabbed his hand in pain.
"Heh," Wiess said, glaring at Sid. "I've been punched by men far stronger than your pansy ass, even Yoma! Don't think I can't take a hit you ugly fool!"
Sid made to attack Wiess again and the younger man tensed his muscles in preparation to pummel the soldier.
-----
In her sleep, Clare felt a shift in Yoki. But she hurt, she hurt so much that she couldn't tell if it was hers or not. She had to work on healing her body. That was the most important.
What seemed like eons later, Clare opened her eyes. She felt a weight on her stomach and saw the familiar black hair of Wiess. She never really got a good look at him before, and decided that staring at him while he was asleep would be better than unnerving him while he was awake. He was quite attractive, she supposed, for a human. His black hair was short, and untamed, sticking up and flying back. She remembered that his eyes were a very light shade of blue, and that he was quite muscular. Then again, the latter probably had to do with his bladesmithing and fighting skills.
Wiess began to wake up and she watched him as he did. "Clare?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes. He saw her looking at him. "Clare! You're awake!"
"Thank you for pointing out the obvious," Clare replied. Wiess looked even happier.
"And you've grown some sarcasm!" he said. "This is truly a miracle."
Wap. She cuffed him on the head. "What did I say about too much talking?" she warned, and he gave her a happy, silent smile.
Father Vincent walked in with a relived smile. "I'm happy to see that you're better!" he said.
"Father, I have a request," Clare said.
-----
"Man I"m bored," Wiess sulked as he walked around the open-display caskets of dead people. "What is with these religious types? Yuck!"
He hefted the two heavy stone statues on his back and tottered around some more. Despite his protests, Clare didn't want him anywhere near her when she was inspecting the priests to see if they were Yoma. So much for being a useful sidekick!
"Oh well," he said to himself, not noticing the creaks and cracks of the large decayed body behind him as it rose out of its casket. "I just hope Clare's okay... Shit"
-----
"GRAAAAAAAAH!"
Clare whirled around. "Wiess!" she cried, drawing her daggers and rocketing towards the tomb.
"Sid and I will follow her!" Galk shouted to the soldiers. "The rest of you protect the priests and bishop!"
They caught up to Clare, who had just arrived to see Wiess get smacked back by the Yoma, making the man hit a column a few feet away. She threw a dagger at the Yoma's arm, stopping it from impaling Wiess on the spot. She leapt over to Wiess' side and took up a defensive stance towards the Yoma.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "Are you hurt?"
"Just peachy," was her answer as two arrows flew over her shoulder and sunk into the Yoma's left hand, which made its spear fingers go awry, making it miss Clare.
"Thank you," she said, leaping into combat.
"While I take care of him, you run for the door, got it?" she asked, slicing into the Yoma's right hand, only proving to infuriate it more. She dodged a slash that would have disembowled her and flipped back to Wiess.
"I don't think so, I'm your sidekick you know!" Wiess said, loosing an arrow into the Yoma's thigh. He put another one in the opposite leg. "I'm right beside you, Clare!"
They were both throw away when fingers blasted the column behind them, sending Wiess flying, his bow skittering away from him on the ground. The Yoma jumped at the fallen man, wanting to eliminite the ranged pesk.
"Oh no!" Clare gasped.
Luckily, Wiess was saved by Galk, who used his brute strength to stop the Yoma's death blow from turning him into a pancake. Sid's throwing knives prevented the left arm from impaling Galk, and Clare slashed it to prevent the Yoma from attacking all three men. Wiess ran for his bow, and reached over his shoulder to grab an arrow when he realized that they had all flown out during his fall.
"Oh shit."
"Is that the best you can do, you limping half-breed?" the Yoma growled, beating Clare back with ferocious strength as it used Galk's sword against her. Galk was lying on the ground, and Sid's throwing knives did nothing to deter it. It slashed downwards powerfully, making Clare block with both arms and her single dagger. The sheer impact of the sword make her chest works rip open, and blood squirted from her body.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Wiess cursed, bolting for the statues that he left near the coffin. He grabbed the one of the goddess Teresa and shouted, "CLARE!"
He threw it to her just in time as the Yoma swept his sword at her midsection, the statue stopping it. Soon, the stone began to crumble, and a handle appeared at the top, her sword.
"Don't push your luck girlie!" the Yoma crowed, running towards her. "You won't get far with just one sword!"
Blood spurted from his back and he growled in pain. He turned to see Wiess behind him, clutching his curved sword. The remains of another statue of the goddess Clare were at his feet. "How about two then?"
"A Claymore, I can understand," the Yoma laughed. "But a human? Take some advice punk, run away."
His answer was a barely-avoided thrust to his brain. "Human? I'm insulted!" Wiess said with a smirk. Clare, Galk and Sid gasped. "I'm no normal human, I'm the Yoma Hunter!"
Clare sighed. "Again, you are terrible at jokes Wiess."
"You love it."
"SHUT UP!" the Yoma roared, attacking Clare while Wiess parried its fingers.
The battle was fierce, and the Yoma nearly killed Clare again with its fingers, but Galk managed to use his body as a pincushion while Clare leapt above him and cut off the Yoma's arms. Then, she unleashed more Yoki and cut the Yoma clear in half from the stomach up.
"Yeah, you did it!" Wiess cheered, while Sid groaned from his shoulder wound.
"Shut up, I'm riddled with holes too!" Galk muttered.
Clare then dropped to her knees in pain.
"Clare?" Wiess asked. "Clare, are you okay?"
It's no good! Clare thought desperately as he body began to change. I can't change back!
"Clare?" Wiess asked, walking up to her.
"Stay back!" she cried, lifting her sword up to her neck. "Don't come any closer!"
"What the hell are you doing?" Wiess asked, moving forward.
"If we use too much of our Yoma energy, it becomes unstoppable," Clare explained, letting out bursts of groans as he body changed. "So while I still have a human consciousness... I'm ending my life."
"Are you... are you becoming like Elena did?" Wiess asked in a frightened tone.
Clare felt tears from her eyes. "Yes..." she whispered. She raised her sword, but another burst of Yoki surged through her body, rendering her arm useless. "Wiess... please... end my life!"
"What?!" Wiess shouted. "Hell no! I can't do that Clare!"
"Please Wiess," she begged. "I can't stop it! I'm turning into a Yoma!"
"NO Clare, you'll be fine, just - just try to control it!"
"I have," she said painfully. "I've gone too far. Please... Wiess... Kill me."
"Who am I gonna fight Yoma with then?" Wiess asked pathetically as he raised his sword.
"I'm glad we spent some time together... Wiess," Clare said as he body changed some more. "I guess you're no longer a sidekick anymore."
She felt something grab her. Looking up, she was stunned to see Wiess clutching her to himself. "Wiess, get away and kill me before I turn!" she cried.
"Pfft," he said with a teary grin. He held her closely as he positioned the tip of his sword at her back. "I said I'd always stay by your side stupid. That's why if you die, then I'm going with you!"
This was said with such a maniacal smile that Clare had no doubts in her mind that Wiess would run that sword through the both of them without a second thought. He would die.
For her.
A monster...
Both were surrounded by a maelstrom of purple light.