I got carried away finnishing the last chapter, so I ended up writing this too. hope you like it!
After the War: 3
Shock is the best word I can think of to describe the atmosphere just then. No one else had said a word, it was like they were waiting for something to break the silence.
"Maybe we should all try it. I-I mean, it would be a perfect way to hide. If they can't sense us, they won't know we're here, right?" Much to my surprise, it was Uma who spoke up. Even though we had long since parted with the rankings given to us by the organization, it was still hard for Uma. She had had the second lowest rank, and we hadn't known her before Pieta. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, I knew how it felt to be an outsider.
"What do you mean, Uma?" questioned Miria, our unspoken leader.
"W-well, I thought if we could do like Clare and lock up our yoki in such a way that we could still use some of it if necessary, then it would be the perfect disguise. If the organization pulls through, they'll have our comrades out searching for us the second they notice the missing swords, if Isley comes out on top, then we'll be killed if they find us anyway. And an Abyssal One probably has a much longer range than any of us."
"So, how'd ya do it Clare?" Helen said, popping up beside me. "It'd be fun to wreak some havoc without that little snag." She giggled, "How about we all give i a try right now? What've we got to lose? Any words of wisdom Clare?"
"Just push." I said simply, not really knowing how else to put it. "You'll know if you've got it. Trust me."
Leaving them to that, I walked a short way into the woods to wait. Thinking back on the past few months, I couldn't get his face out of my head. "Where the devil are you, Raki?" I muttered. I had hoped to meet him again after the battle, but the way things are now that's going to be impossible for a while. Loathe to simply sit there, I did the only thing I could at the time. I kept lookout. Casting my senses as far as they would go, I hunted for any sign of yoki, starting when I realized that what had previously been steadily contained yoki was now jumping out erratically. They were having a tough time of it. From the feel of things, none of us would be able to use our original techniques. They all required releasing too much yoki. Helen's especially. Much like my quick-sword, it almost fully awakened the arm, while the rest of the body controls it, Miria's used bursts of yoki to her legs, so that won't work, Deneve obviously can't regenerate like that anymore either. We had a long road ahead of us.
I was dizzy for a moment when I suddenly felt a pull on my yoki, even buried as deep as it was. Only one could do that. Galetea. She must be close too. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sense her. She must be as adept at hiding her yoki as she is at sensing others'.
"I wish I could say it was good to see you again, Clare." As always Galatea had her sarcastic smile on, but as I looked, I noticed something was different, she had a long scar running across her face; right over her eyes, or rather, over where her eyes should have been.
"Your eyes! What happened?" I exclaimed.
"Nothing really. It just happened, and I didn't regenerate. Thought it would be a perfect way to hide. They've been after me since I told them you dead. Looks like we're all in the same boat."
"Any news on the situation down south?" I asked, it would be critical that we knew what was going on before we made our move.
"It's over. Luciella of the South is dead, the organization put up a good fight, but it was just too well planned out. There's no way anyone can bring Isley and Pricilla down now. Our only hope before was to alliance with the other Abyssals, but without Luciella, it would still be hopeless. Even Isley alone would be difficult. He simply has too many followers." She sighed.
'This is terrible! True we don't have to worry about the organization, but now we might bring the entire yoma populace down on our heads!' "What happened to the organization?"
"Apparently they had a secret weapon ready, number 1, Alicia and 2 Beth. I was scoping out the situation, and I saw what their goal was all along. To make a warrior that could fully awaken, but still fight for them. From what I saw, Beth and Alicia were twins, and they had been trained so they could completely synchronize their yokis. Beth holds her sister's spirit back, while she defeats the enemy. Their power could kill Riful. They had just finished slaughtering the 15 Awakened Ones sent to the organization, when Pricilla showed up. She's a monster. I've never felt a yoki like that. She cut down Alicia like she was a human." I could tell Galatea was scared. I didn't know exactly how strong she was, but she was perfectly calm when Riful stopped Jean from killing Dauf back in the ruined castle, and I myself had felt a glimpse of Pricilla's power just a short while ago. It was easily above a high level Awakened One, when she wasn't even trying. I could only imagine her full prowess.
"Damnit! Why is it still so damn far?" I said, punching a hole right though a tree next to me. I heard footsteps sounding behind me and turned, coming face to face with Tabatha.
"We felt a strange presence and came to investigate. Care to introduce us, Clare?"
"This is Galatea. Formerly number 3, she helped me and Jean back before the war. Galatea, these are my friends: Tabatha, Miria, Helen, Deneve, Uma, and Cynthia."
"Nice to meet you all, but I'm afraid I come bearing bad news. The organization has fallen. The world as we know it is gone. Pricilla and Isley are in control. They are currently trying to hunt down the last of the warriors. I'm afraid that before long we will be all that is left of our kind." Everyone's reaction was different. Helen started freaking out in her usual way, Uma looked to be on the verge of tears, Miria simply stood there and, like the leader she was, calmly started reassuring everyone, her thought unreadable. Tabatha looked to be in shock. I couldn't say I blamed her. Deneve promptly slumped to the ground, clearly struggling to take in all the implications. Almost without a second thought, we all turned to Miria for guidance, but she was just as confused as the rest of us. Slowly, we all pulled ourselves together. Galatea had slipped off during the confusion.
"Alright. First things first, Seeing as all our techniques are now useless, we need to start learning some new ones. For now we all need some rest, so let's head back to camp. We start training in the morning."
Alright! ch.6 finished at last! the next chapter brings us out of the flashback sequence. Be prepared for a fight. the Claymores are finally going into action!
