The sun blared down, taking the breath of its victim. Clare opened her swimming eyes only to rapidly cover them with her arms. Her brain spun from the "trip." The instantaneous journey mutilated her logic - reasonable thoughts fled from her mind. She remained completely rigid in hopes of recovering soon. She mentally reviewed Rubel's words. Yes, she could do this.
Coyly she smiled, "Well, I'm alive." He had told the truth in at least that aspect. The Organization could have easily destroyed her with the Teresa ploy. She wondered whether the device had even done its service. She lifted herself and glanced around.
The land looked different, but not years different. A pang shot through her foot. She looked down…large teeth marks dented her metal boot. She signed, but her foot had basically healed beside what pieces still stuck inside her flesh. She considered taking it off and either beating the metal back into form or discarding it entirely. Before she could do anything, however, she sensed someone coming. She focused on the presence. Oh! She wanted to tackle the woman approaching. Teresa! Clare smiled broadly: the device had worked! Ha….
Her logic abruptly struck her. Lithely she crouched behind a thicket. With each step or shift of her weight, the metal delved in. She winced, but refused to groan. She suppressed her yoki even more. She even calmed her breathing. She knew that a day before Teresa had taken little Clare under her wing, Teresa would have sensed Clare immediately. Luckily Teresa seemed distracted. Reality hadn't really settled in her mind yet. When she spotted the pale, wavy tresses, she felt an intangible force punch her in the gut. Her stomach and heart ached.
Her heart sped…buh..bum…bum bum…bum bum. Tears moistened her eyes, but she couldn't cry right then. She didn't have time. She had messed up - completely screwed up. If she didn't hurry, the other Clare would be helpless. She could sense no yoma in the nearest village, which meant the bandits could freely attack. She had meant to teleport closer to the village…but she focused on Teresa instead. She cursed silently, pushing herself to decide: should she destroy her stealth to run or just wait on Teresa to see the horses?
Clare huffed. Frustration pouring out of her skin. Teresa's head instinctively tilted toward the sound…the tiny disturbance in the quiet world. Clare plopped carelessly onto the ground…angry. She struggled to pull the maddening boot off! She jerked and twisted it, yanking painfully at the muscles mingled with the metal. Resolutely she still yanked and tugged. One final jerk and she threw the nuisance as far she could. She flexed her bloody foot before hopping up. Teresa's eyes had already narrowed onto the struggling target. She looked on curiously - an eyebrow raised. Apparently she didn't perceive Clare as threat, otherwise Clare wouldn't be standing.
Clare froze for a moment, mentally debating. She stuttered without looking into the intimidating woman's eyes, "An a-attack on the vil-lage. Bandits." Clare didn't hesitate for an answer. She didn't need one. After five years of suppressing her yoki, Clare decided to release a little, more than enough to run faster than Teresa. Well, enough to run past a confused Teresa. Her heart throbbed in her ears as she sprinted toward the village. As she heard the horses and bandits ride by, she ran faster. She focused on little Clare. Still she couldn't bring herself to the call the little one me. Reality hadn't set in completely yet. She wished she could transform again like she had in the North. She couldn't arouse suspicions from Teresa, however. Plus she hadn't tried since then.
When the village appeared in her view , she released a battle cry to startle the men. She felt Teresa jerk close behind her. She scared everyone. She was an unknown factor…volatile. She sprinted forth, prepared to the defend the girl and fight off Teresa. She would rather her younger self die than for Teresa to go on a rampage. Either situation was unacceptable. She rushed through the throng of men. Most of them gazed at her with shock and fear. However, a few brave, stupid souls followed her …interested immediately. Her fury and resolve frightened a many away though. All eyes stayed on her.
Teresa slowed down to search for her ward. She couldn't spot little Clare though. She frantically paced behind the fierce Claymore leading the way. Astonishingly Teresa watched as the other woman led her instantly to Clare. Fortunately the vengeful man hadn't touched her yet. He only looked on greedily at the defenseless child. Little Clare stood bravely (presumably waiting on Teresa to save her).
Clare wrinkled her nose and scowled at the stupid man. She reflected on her past with him. She remembered with demented clarity how she screamed and fought this monster. Yoma don't always constitute the only monsters…men can too. Amazingly Clare reacted quicker than Teresa. Teresa concentrated on little Clare's safety first. Perhaps Clare's strange presence confused the older Claymore. Clare grasped at every particle of strength within her to refrain from Awakening on this man. She wanted to kill him.
She dashed forward with precision, filling the space between little Clare and the attacker. Stilled she commanded, "Go to Teresa. Tell her you're fine…" Little Clare trembled innocently. She hesitated.
Clare glanced at the handicapped fool. She loathed him. Every muscle strained wrapped in fury. He had shoved Teresa to that breaking point, a black abyss that allows murder. Teresa moved forward angrily - a mission written in each step. Clare acted swiftly. She ignored the bandit's jibes, and she slashed at his chest. She didn't ram the sword through his heart like she mentally indulged in, but her fingers twitched in anticipation. He fell to the ground dramatically. Clare rolled her eyes. He stumbled pathetically…no longer smirking…now trying to crawl away from his attacker.
Teresa finally reacted. She acted just as rapidly as she did in Clare's past. Clare, however, shouted, "Don't even! I will kill you before you kill him!" She shook her head violently, reminding herself too. Her bangs trembled side to side. Teresa stared at the woman in stiff annoyance.
While Clare focused on the older Claymore and Teresa on Clare, the dimwitted bandit reached out to little Clare. Maybe he wanted a hostage, but Clare and Teresa both lunged forth. Clare found her mind and conscience quicker than Teresa. She used her sword to block Teresa's and knocked his head away. Her move shocked them all…even herself. The quick sword proved extremely useful in that moment.
Then, Clare pressed her sword's tip against the scoundrel's Adam's apple. She pressed light, but to him the sword felt like it would decapitate him any second. Teresa asked in irritation, "We're comrades. Are we not? Then, why are you protecting the enemy?"
Clare restrained her yoki even more. Keep in mind, that if Teresa accurately sensed Clare's aura, then, the truth would come out. Clare had a yoki similar to Teresa's. She anticipated a fight from Teresa, but she had to keep the yoki in mind. Clare confidently explained, "Orsay's watching. You slaughter this fool, then, the child's life is shot to hell…" Clare turned her face toward the small Clare. The girl quivered unsure of everything. "We don't want that do we?"
Clare didn't really care anymore about her fate, but she knew Teresa would listen if the child's life hinged on the bandit's life or death. "Go on now. Leave while the girl is safe. Protect her!" Her voice thickened, "I'll take care of the bandits."
Reluctantly Teresa lifted her child from the ground in an increasingly maternal way. She pulled the shell-shocked girl to her chest and sprinted gracefully to the outskirts of the village. She bypassed all of the other fools.
Ten minutes passed: Clare had severed each bandit's sword hand and knocked them unconscious. She knocked the Falcon-sword man and the handicapped man out especially hard.
She meticulously wiped the globs of crimson snot from her broad sword. She kneeled in rest. She felt at peace with her actions. Before she had burned with murderous rage, but Teresa's safety calmed her down. Quietly Clare pondered over her next actions. She didn't want to go back…not yet. There were no guarantees that Teresa would survive until Clare's present. Clare sighed.
Clare rose nobly from her site among the bloodied bodies of greedy fools. The flocks of surviving townspeople began to cautiously file from their hiding places. They couldn't tell who the woman was. She wore a different armor than the Claymore. She wore black garments and one armored shoe. She glanced around at the scanty crowd. She could feel the blood seeping through her clothes onto her skin. She inquired politely, "Is there anywhere I can buy clothes?"
The people sent her off with a woman who gave Clare new clothes in return for rescuing the village. The clothes ironically resembled the clothes she received as a child. Clare quickly changed into her new clothes and even the new shoes and ran. She needed to catch up with Teresa after all….