Claymore The Extra Ghost:
Chapter 3: The Phantom's ambush
Clare stood restlessly by the battlements, she wanted to desperately search for Raki, but there would be no such luck if she waited for Miria to say that they were moving out from Rabona. Clare wanted to curse because every moment that they stalled from travel was a moment that she wasn't going to be seeing Raki. She heard footsteps and swung around, it was almost as if Miria had read Clare's mind,
"So you want to head west Clare?" Miria asked,
"Miria I…"
"You should go and clear the lingering attachments from your heart," said Miria, much to the others' shock.
"Hey Miria…" Helen began,
"Not just Clare, but all of you, if there is something that you want to take care of, now would be the time to do it." Miria turned and looked at all of them, she was worried about the fact that the outcome of the battle to come and she didn't want anyone having second thoughts or regrets, "However if you are going to leave Rabona, you will need to be in groups of two or more,"
The others looked at Miria and Helen spoke, "It'll be pretty boring waiting for Clare to come back, and now that I think about it, I haven't been to my home town since I left…" she looped her arm around Deneve's shoulder, "How about it Deneve, you're home town's close to mine?"
"I don't care for that place, but if you're going, I might as well come." Deneve sighed.
"Cynthia, Tabitha, Yuma, what will you do?" Miria asked,
"I don't have a home town," said Cynthia,
"My home town is close to the Organization," said Yuma, "I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to go there right now."
"I will stay with you Captain Miria," said Tabitha, shooting a dagger look at Seto, as if he was the source of the latest amount of trouble, namely the weird yoki release that both she and Galatea had been trying to track.
Seto for his part looked absent minded, he wasn't really paying attention to Tabitha at all. The expression on his face was one that Helen would have loved to have painted if she could. Something seemed to be off with him, though Helen didn't know what.
"Fine, Seto, Yuma, you go with Clare to the west and Cynthia you can go with Deneve and Helen." Miria calmly stated,
"Understood," Cynthia replied
"What!" cried Clare, "Miria I'll be fine by myself…"
"I have already told you if you want to leave Rabona you will need to be in groups of two or more, you in particular Clare have the tenancy to get out of control. At least with others around you, you'll act more rationally."
Helen snicked, "Not just Yuma, but Miria's toy boy as well!"
"Hold your tongue Helen," Miria growled in warning.
Helen snickered away, amused by the fact that ever since that yoki release, Miria had been a little easier to push to annoyance than before and she seemed to dislike Helen making jokes about Seto being Miria's toy, although Helen felt that it was half true at any rate because Miria was certainly with Seto quite a bit, and there had been a few yoki releases that were enough to make the others want some of whatever it was that Miria was getting, especially Tabitha who was beginning to get rather jealous of the fact that Seto was the one that was alone with Miria for any length of time. It was only natural that when girls were together and there was a cute male around there was bound to be competition for the guy. Helen had wondered why Seto was with the group travelling with Clare and she came to a sudden realisation. Seto was by the book, exactly like Miria. Of course he had never really used his yoki at all, so he was different in that regard, but still…Helen had another thought, one that was interesting. She wondered if it was simply to keep her away from him. The last two weeks in Rabona had proved that. Miria and Seto had continued their hard work, training as often as they could. Helen had seen it with her own eyes. Of course Seto was no fun, avoiding Helen as much as humanly possible, so she couldn't really tell what he was doing with Miria and a quick sniff was out of the question. Helen wondered if she would ever figure out what was between Miria and Seto that was so "hush, hush".
By the time everyone was ready for their trips, Miria was almost sad to see them go. She was particularly depressed about seeing Seto go, something that she didn't think would happen. She felt like she'd wanted to cry when he left, and for Miria that wasn't a good thing. She waited in Rabona and as she had told them, she prayed for their safety and hoped that she would see them all alive again. It had been almost two weeks since they had left, and Miria felt something odd. She felt two powerful yokis surge in the west, so powerful in fact it almost blinded her ability to sense what was happening in the south at the same time. She was sure that the yoki in the south was Isley, the Silver Eyed King, and that somehow he had just been killed. She feared that the other powerful yoki was Seto's and that he was awakening, but once the commotion died down, so too did Seto's yoki. Galatea confirmed that he had pulled it back to suppression, and Miria felt a wave of relief, although she would never say it out loud because it would upset Tabitha, who seemed to be in a strange mood lately, and Miria didn't know why that was. Galatea then informed Miria that Alicia and Beth were on the move. Miria wanted to curse as she knew that the Organization would be at their most vulnerable. It would be the perfect time to attack, and yet she was trapped in Rabona.
Seto followed Clare and wondered if it was just him, or had Clare gotten colder as they travelled. They were in the western lands again and it seemed that Clare wanted to really kick in to gear. They had been travelling for almost two weeks, when they happened across Dauf, Riful's lover. He was in a state and a half, and Clare cursed, and unfortunately for them, drew Dauf's attention towards them. Seto had his work cut out for him and by the time he was done, Dauf lay in pieces on the ground. Clare glared at Seto, and Seto didn't know what she was so annoyed about. He looked at her in confusion and by the time he turned around, he realised that he felt a very powerful yoki behind him.
As he swung around to face it, he realised that it was just a small girl. She had dark hair and large brown eyes. She came forward and Clare sudden rushed forward, unleashing a technique that Seto hadn't seen before. Yuma was shaking as Clare tried to push her yoki up to a point that Miria had told Seto was awakening, a point at which a warrior could lose their mind. Seto acted quickly, and without thinking. He slashed the air with his wind sword, cutting the ground apart, but missing the girl it seemed. Then she began to change, her body growing and elongating. A horn protruded from her head, and her yoki release tore what clothing she had on apart.
"I only wanted to find that scent," her voice grated on Seto's nerves, "they took him, they took him and I only wanted to find that scent."
Seto managed to cut off her arms only to have them regrow. He didn't know why, but he lifted his own yoki. He knew at once that he had a fight on his hands. Sure he killed the one horned creature, but in the same token his body was out of control. He fought the urge with all of his might. This was almost as pleasurable as making love with Miria, but Seto knew that he had to fight this in a way that he didn't when he was making love to Miria. He strove for control and he could sense two powerful warriors rushing towards him with haste. Seto stayed in control, and he felt someone helping him. He managed to get his yoki down to twenty per cent and then slowly bring it back down from there. He was shaking slightly and he fell in to the grass, exhausted.
Helen, Cynthia and Deneve travelled together in to the south and they came across a strange scene. A group of warriors were trying to kill an awakened one, but they were losing the fight. Cynthia suggested that they help, despite Miria's watch words. Deneve sighed and they rushed to help the girls before they got killed. The single digit warrior was quick and sharp. She dodged the attempt of the former warriors' avoiding being knocked out by them. Helen wanted to curse, but they had more pressing matters to attend to. The battle was short and once they were finished they still had a single digit to deal with. A short conversation followed in which the warrior revealed that she was named Dietrich, and that they really shouldn't head further south because there was something strange prowling the southern lands. Helen made a shrug and the three continued, much to Dietrich's annoyance. She was a warrior of her word and always told the truth when asked. She didn't understand how they could ignore her warning, although if she was forced to be frank, they were as skilled as a single digit, so technically they were a group of three single digits, but that didn't change the fact that she had incurred a debt to them that had to be repaid, nor that they had headed south anyway. She wanted to curse, but she refrained from doing so. She followed them and found that they had a gruelling pace. She hadn't been forced to travel this fast, but she would stick to them. She was a good five hundred swords behind them, when a sound made her shiver and stop where she was. It was those things…the stuff of a warrior's nightmares. Dietrich was frozen in fear as their rattily breaths rung through the forest. She was shaking with undiluted fear, and she could hear several twigs snapping, and even some trees being stomped through. The unhealthy creatures were a creation of the Organization, and they were made to track down those awakened ones that the warriors couldn't kill, and kill them. Dietrich was hoping that they would pass without coming near her, but a head moved near her chest. It sniffed her once. Dietrich stared at its sewn mouth, its eyes were sewn shut, so that it would never physically see. She knew that these things, the Abyssal Feeders, were the most twisted creation to date. They barely had anything on their bodies, and they were larger than a human, roughly the size of small awakened ones. However in Dietrich's mind they were still twisted. Once it was satisfied that she wasn't the target it moved on. Dietrich moved slowly, shaking as she walked behind them. She had learnt that sudden movements were not a good idea as the creatures were bound to fight. She had learnt by watching that they regenerated swiftly, and protected their heads at all costs. It was something that she had seen for a while now. She had been hoping to avoid them, but if she was to follow them, then so be it. She followed them to their target.
Helen was walking slowly with Cynthia and Deneve, they were in a town with so many humans in it that they were forced to draw their hoods right up, obscuring their sliver eyes. The warrior back there hadn't really brought their lie, but it was worth a shot. Helen sighed. She turned to Deneve to say something when a large yoki hit her senses. She fell over on to her knees, damn, it, it's as powerful as what Riful's was. She wanted to curse, but Deneve spoke smoothly to him
"My sister isn't feeling very well," she said. She was trying to dodge his concern, in fact she was hoping that he would move on and leave them alone
Just when they thought they were safe he suddenly sung on them, sensing that they were warriors, he demanded to know why they were suppressing their yoki. Helen had seen Seto in action fighting Riful and she was sure that they would need Seto to face off with Isley, but he was in the west with Clare, by Miria's command. Isley revealed himself, and Helen Deneve and Cynthia prepared for the inevitable. They raised their blades in defence aiming to bide some time when they heard a strange sound. Isley cursed loudly and Helen wanted to gag at what she was seeing.
They were strange creatures indeed, their mouths were gaping open to reveal a set of fangs that were yoma like. The beasts emitted no yoki at all. Helen gaped at them as they shot past the warriors and straight to Isley. Isley rose in to his awakened form and fought them. Helen was shocked to see that the creatures were eating Isley. Isley was now busy. Helen and the others swiftly evacuated the people, getting them out of harm's way. Several people were shaking, but they were grateful that the "Claymores" were saving them. It was then that Helen saw that warrior from before, Dietrich. She was also helping with the evacuation, her comrades all carrying as many humans as they could out of the city and into the forest. Once the humans were all safe, Helen and the others corned Dietrich, only to discover that she was near enough to physically see what was going on, but far enough away that Isley hopefully wouldn't get them.
"Ok shorty, what the fuck are those things?" Helen demanded
"Helen," Cynthia gasped in shock,
"Those are the Organization's newest weapons," said Dietrich, emotionlessly, "they are designed to eat their targets, and I doubt that there are any from the original eleven that they first sent out. It seems that they are capable of hunting their pray through scent, and you would have noticed that they emit no yoki, though they regenerate at a fast pace. They protect their heads at all costs because that is the only way to kill them."
"So that's why Isley's in trouble." Said Cynthia, as Isley lost the fight and was slowly eaten alive.
"Yes, they have been at him for a while now," Dietrich told them, "they can't sense yoki, so if you stand still, they don't notice you."
"Would you be able to do us a favour please?" asked Cynthia, "Would you be as kind as to deliver a message for us, to Phantom Miria."
The younger warrior's eyes seemed to pop out of her head.
"Ph…Phantom…Miria…you're kidding right…THE PHANTOM MIRIA?" the younger warrior half flushed with a strange yoki release, "Phantom Miria, the former Number 6 said to surpass a Number 1 in group battle?"
She looked enthusiastically at them, and Deneve had to ask why Dietrich was so excited. The result wasn't to be expected. Dietrich cleared her throat, and she began.
When I was just a little trainee, everyone knew that one of the best warriors, one of the kindest was the one they called Phantom Miria. Everyone wanted to be like her when they grew up, they wanted to be fast, to out run yoma and slay them with ease. They wanted to be as kind as she was, though some of us didn't know how that worked. Of all the warriors she was the best to do survival training, she was the most through, and those that knew her were truly privileged. I was one such lucky girl, though I couldn't run fast, she didn't mind. I learnt everything I could from her. I was the one the others envied, and it wasn't until Renée was brought in after her survival course that I wasn't on my own. The Miria that Renée knew was no different to the one I knew. So full of patience, so gentle to even the weakest of us. She didn't care about our hair colour, she didn't care if we found it hard to keep up, as she would adjust her pace accordingly. She was an incredible tactician, I doubt that Audrey could match Miria, or even Rachel. We were all horrified to hear that she was killed at Pieta, in the northern wars. So many of us were unable to thank her for what she taught us, and we doubted that anyone would ever match blades with her, if she were to live on.
"So you see, that's why I will do it," said Dietrich, "for old time's sake, and I have to see for myself how time has made things."
The three warriors looked at Dietrich in surprise. They didn't expect the younger generation to have heard of Miria, and yet it seemed that they had. They were astounded that Dietrich raced off, heading to Rabona without another word. All that was left for them to do was to head west, and see how Clare was fairing.
Miria had been calmly sitting in near the battlements on the cathedral roof when she heard the clomping of a nun's shoes. Slowly she came out in to the light and as she lifted off her habit, Miria resisted the urge to smile. Galatea never changed. Even though she wore a nun's dress she still had to have it perfect. Miria tilted her head,
"Some one's on the way here and they're on the meds," Galatea cheerfully in formed Miria,
"Where?" Miria shot back,
"Southern side of Rabona," the former Number 3 replied. Miria could have sworn that she heard Galatea sigh, but if she did then it was very softly.
Miria rushed straight to the southern side. She wasted no time in stopping the hooded figure,
"Give it up," said Miria, her sword at the person's neck, "did you honestly think you could get to Rabona?"
"Well," the warrior replied, "I didn't really come looking for a fight, I came to deliver a message, from the one called Cynthia,"
Miria lowered her sword, but not her guard. The warrior flicked off her hood. Miria blinked, surprised that it was none other than little Dietrich, although she wasn't so little anymore. She had grown in to a powerful warrior. A faint smile touched Miria's face,
"Ah, so it's you." she said,
"The message is as follows," said Dietrich, and Miria knew that formality was everything to this girl. She would have to wait until after Dietrich was finished, for any informality, "'we have headed west to assist Clare, and we should be able to find her and the one she seeks.'"
Miria nodded, and the idea came to her. It was most brilliant, although she didn't know if it would work.
"It has been a long time, but I'm afraid I cannot stay," Dietrich said sadly, "they are forcing my hand; so if we do meet again, I will have to draw my blade."
Miria nodded, and Dietrich left. The plan kept growing in Miria's mind. With Alicia and Beth out of the way, it was only a matter of time…and she knew at once what she had to do to save the younger warriors' lives. She knew at once. She waited for two days, and as Alicia showed no sign of leaving the western lands anytime soon, Miria quietly drew her own blade and cut down Tabitha. Tabitha was in a state of shock and disbelief. She didn't get words out of her mouth but the expression on her face was more than enough. Miria was glad that Galatea was blind. Miria walked away from Tabitha, but the sound of the girl landing on the ground was enough.
"Going to hell on your own violation huh?" asked Galatea,
Miria steeled her voice, making it hard and cold, "If you get in my way I'll cut you down too,"
"With my eyes like this, I can't really do anything," the former Number 3 replied
Miria calmly gathered her amour, something she hadn't worn in almost seven years. She pulled it on and was almost astounded that it felt so comfortable. As she sheathed her blade, Miria had an odd sense of déjà-vu and she quickly put that out of her head. She went straight to Sutafu, there wasn't any need to mess about.
By the time Cynthia Deneve and Helen all caught up with Clare, Yuma and Seto, Helen could sense that something was up. Seto was nervous and tense, and it seemed like he didn't want to say a word. It wasn't long until Clare told them the horrifying news.
"They've got Raki," she spat, "fuck it they've got Raki!"
No one really knew what Clare was saying until they came to a realisation, who else could have gotten Raki except the Organization. Helen gaped, and Seto suddenly tensed up,
"Rabona's in trouble," he called, "There are a lot of yoki heading towards it and I don't like the chance that they're going to be held back!"
With that the others raced to Rabona's aid once more.
It took them a week to get there and as they arrived, it seemed that they were in the nick of time. Tabitha was in trouble, and Miria was nowhere in sight. Seto was beginning to get worried as he did feel Miria use her yoki, but she wasn't here. She wasn't even near Rabona at all. He wanted to curse with frustration. He wanted to keep close to her, protect her, and now she had run in to her own danger and he'd been too far to save her. He unleased the wind sword in anger, blasting all the yoma and awakened ones apart. He was furious, and he knew what he had to do.
Once the battle was finished, a group meeting was called in which Seto told them he was going to Sutafu, with or without them. Clare said it was pointless for him to go there if he didn't know how to get there. She would guide him because she had to get Raki back. The others jumped in and it was decided that they would all go. Dietrich, Alicia and Beth decided that they too, would come with the "Ghosts". Galatea sighed, and said nothing. She knew that all hell was about to break loose and someone was going to get hurt. She hoped with all of her heart that they would all come back alive with Miria and Raki.
In the depths of Sutafu, Miria was regaining consciousness. She was hurt, but not dead. She felt the wounds as they bled, surprised that the younger warriors had refrained from killing her. She slowly reattached her left arm as the more vital wounds healed. The gash on her face had no hope of a swift recovery, she wouldn't have enough yoki for that. She wondered where she was and as she sat up, the current Number 3, Audrey came in with some water and some food. Miria sat up, wincing as she did so. Her left arm was nearly reattached, so by the time Audrey had brought the food to her, her left arm was working again. However she was still healing far too slowly for what she could do normally and Miria was a little worried about it. Audrey had brought Miria a rather nice and warm stew and a soft loaf of bread. Such a meal would normally keep Miria for a week, but she felt oddly hungry.
"Thank you," said Miria, eating the bread.
"It's the least we could do," Audrey winced as she looked at the damage that they had to do in order to fake the warrior's death from the men's point of view. The younger warriors had been sure that she was holding back, and they had partially witnessed the power that had simply cut them down, not willing to take a single life. Audrey had asked the young twins what it was like, crossing blades with her and they said that even though they had gone all out, she merely deflected their blades, trying not to hurt them, and one of the girls said that she was told that she would sleep for a little while, she realised then that the warrior was being serious, that she was being honest. Audrey had been shocked to hear that warrior call out to a comrade of the past, Raftella had told the others that the warrior was called Phantom Miria. The effect was like someone had set Sutafu on fire. The warriors were shocked and angry. They wanted to get the men back, and as Miria slowly recovered they wondered how they were going to do it. It would still be a while until the Number 7 and her team arrived from Alphonse. It was a hard call for Audrey, who was the unofficial Number 1 to her comrades. She was the point of call for the younger inexperienced warriors. It was more than often Audrey that was the strongest of her comrades that guided them. She felt a great weight on her shoulders, but she wondered how it would have felt at Pieta, when Miria was commanding her comrades at the time. Audrey realised that Miria was used to tight situations and a plan began to from in her mind. She wondered if Miria would be able help them. It would have to work, after all, thanks to Miria; the hearts of the entire generation had been moved. Audrey was sure that they would listen to Miria, and while she was at it, perhaps Miria could assess the warriors for their group battle ability. Audrey was surprised that Miria ate the whole loaf, and that she drunk the stew that the others had made for her. She then lay back down on the thick straw pile that the girls had made, sacrificing their own comfort for Miria, as the warriors weren't allowed beds unless they were seriously injured. Miria's eyes closed and she seemed to sleep, her breathing deep and even. The younger warriors had all wanted to see her at once, but it was at Audrey's insistence that they hold back so that the men didn't know that Miria hadn't died. There were some very eager girls that Audrey had to sit on their asses before they got the message about waiting until Audrey knew that it was safe to see Miria. Now that Miria was partially recovered Audrey decided that two at a time would be safe enough to see the Phantom. However she was going to need to recover more before it was safe for them all to see her at all. Audrey carefully left the room, closing the door behind her and hiding it behind a wall covering. She hoped that none of the men would find out about this little hidey hole that the warriors had made. She walked down the corridor and passed a handler, acting as if nothing was happening, and he passed the covering without even looking at it. Audrey kept her face smooth until she reached her comrades. She had plenty to do as it was. She called for order and spoke in a low tone the rules that the others were going to have to abide by if they wanted to see Phantom Miria. The girls made the promise enthusiastically.