Disclaimer: I will never own Claymore.

AN: Here is the third chapter, please review and let me know what you think.

DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK

We shall die
Time is like a fuse, short and burning fast
Armageddon is here, like said in the past

Fight fire with fire
Ending is near
Fight fire with fire
Bursting with fear

Soon to fill our lungs the hot winds of death
The gods are laughing, so take your last breath

~Fight Fire With Fire, Apocalyptica

DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK

"Don't cry; it makes you look pathetic. Weeping will just make your ugly face look even uglier."

Galatea opened her mouth to say more, but shut it as the strong presence she'd sensed earlier appeared behind Number Forty Seven.

"He really is stupid, isn't he?"

Both Claymores turned to face the pile of rubble behind Clare, whose legs still weren't fully healed. They were both shocked to see the little girl sitting there, although Galatea was less surprised by her being there.

Galatea scowled, 'She came out faster than I'd expected . . .'

They were both shocked when another form appeared, a young male teen this time. Galatea was speechless, she couldn't even sense his yoki at this distance! Her surprise only grew when the boy spoke.

"I like the long haired one, she's pretty funny." The boy smiled slightly and both of the Claymore's were too stunned to say anything about the comment.

The girl gave a quick glance to her companion, before her attention was brought to the still crying Awakened being, "Excuse me, Dauf? What are you doing?" The girl started to shake her head, "It's exactly because he does things like this, that I can't take pride in him being my man, you know?"

The boy beside her shook his head, "Find yourself a new man, who isn't such a moron then, and save yourself the embarrassment."

Dauf ignored the boy, "Well, I can't land my punches on this one. So . . ."

The girl cut him off with a raised voice, "How can you not land your punches? What are you, stupid?"

The boy beside her muttered something, but it was loud enough for both of the Claymores to hear, "He hasn't learnt since last time, so he obviously is stupid."

Dauf didn't hear the boy, "It's true! So, I . . ."

The little girl let out a huff, "Fine, let me tell you how to land your punches for sure. So, make sure you land them next time, ok?"

The enormous Awakened being nodded, tears still streaming down his face. The girl raised a finger in the air, "Throw your punches with all your strength and will." Galatea glared at her slightly over her shoulder, while Clare gave a soft gasp. Noah smirked slightly, Riful had pestered him until he'd told her how to fight the abilities of a manipulator. Against a Claymore, she'd have no problem, no matter what their rank was. Even against a single digit Awakened being, they would only be able to throw off her aiming. Unfortunately for her though, she wasn't strong enough to completely throw off Noah's manipulation.

Another way to stop some one from manipulating you was to flare and contort your yoki. Doing that prevented the being from getting a grip on your yoki. Unfortunately, it took more skill than most Claymore's and Awakened beings possessed.

Dauf hadn't listened when she had told him to teach the dim-witted Awakened being, and now it was coming back to bite him in the arse.

The green haired boy caught the smug glance that Riful sent him as she paused, something Galatea noticed as well. It only took a few moments for the Number Three to work out why the girl had looked at the boy like that, and when she did, her eyes widened.

"No, but . . . I've been doing that all this time, and I can't hit her at all."

The girl pointed at him, "Quit talking and just do it! Let me say this, miss again and I'm breaking up with you."

The two Claymores were dumbfounded by the seemingly innocent threat, but the Awakened being took it seriously, "T-that's harsh," He muttered. He raised a fist and held it for a second, "Damn it! This is all because of you!" Fuelling his punch with anger, he struck at the irritating Claymore. Dauf was dumb-founded when the blow went on target, and the long-haired Claymore was forced to jump out of the way. "Oh, my punch didn't change course this time . . ." He muttered to himself.

The Awakened being turned and tried to backhand the Claymore, who pushed off the wall to avoid his fist. Dauf opened his mouth, and fired a barrage of smaller rods at the girl in mid air, who quickly swung her sword and started to deflect the missiles.

Clare called out her comrade's name in concern, "Galatea!" The Number Forty Seven warrior turned when she heard the girl speaking again.

"Yes, that's the way to go, Dauf. Had you done that from the start, you wouldn't have lost a hand, you know?"

Clare angrily stared at the girl, "You . . ." The boy sitting down said nothing, watching the fight between Dauf and Galatea. "What did you do?"

The girl smiled and stretched out her arms in a shrug, "I did absolutely nothing. She can control other people's yoki, you know?"

Clare gasped quietly as her suspicions were confirmed. To have that much skill as a sensor . . . it was unbelievable.

"But . . ."

Dauf opened his mouth and launched another barrage of smaller rods at the Claymore, who was still deflecting all of them easily.

"She just tweaks it to a small extent. She can't stop the action itself."

The boy chose that moment to speak, "With enough practice, she'll be able to get to the point where she can control their actions to a much greater degree."

The brown haired girl turned to the boy, a cheerful smile on her face, "Like you, Noah?"

Clare flinched slightly when the boy nodded at the girl, smirking a little. The girl turned back to the fight, where Dauf's mouth had been closed while he was launching his rods, causing them to jut of through his cheeks. "So, Dauf's anger-filled, full-strength attack is something she can't do anything about."

Galatea jumped towards Dauf, aiming for his face. The Awakened being swung a punch at her, which she desperately tried to divert. She failed and Dauf's fist crashed into her like a ton of stone. The Claymore went flying to the ground, landing with a shout of pain.

Dauf brought his wrist up and fired a large rod at the downed warrior, striking her even as Clare shouted, "Dodge it!" Galatea spat up blood as the rod bounced away, clattering into the darkness.

Dauf grinned, readying another large rod to fire at the Claymore, "Where should I aim for next?" Galatea struggled to rise to her feet, trying to ignore the pain that her chest and stomach were giving her.

Riful watched on, "The outcome of this fight has been determined."

Noah shook his head, "I wouldn't be so sure . . ."

Riful was about to make a retort when an outburst of yoki caught her attention. Clare was on her hands and knees, yoki visible in a whirlwind around her. "Hey, you. It's ok to release your yoma powers to heal your leg, but you're past your limits, you know?"

Dauf laughed, "Next, head shot coming up!" He launched the rod, confident that the Claymore could do nothing to escape.

Clare opened her eyes, and disappeared in a blur, dashing towards Galatea. The rod struck the ground and buried itself in deep, but there weren't any splattered pieces of Claymore flying around. The Claymores appeared behind Dauf, both of them mostly unharmed.

Riful's eyes opened wide, while Noah smirked beside her. He'd had a feeling that the Claymore was something special, both of them were, just like the one down stairs. His smirk slipped a little bit when he thought of Jean. Hopefully, she Awakened and joined Riful. The alternative wasn't a pleasant thing to think about.

His gaze was drawn to the Claymores, one of which was beginning to Awaken. It was strange, the yoki in her sword arm was different to the rest of her yoki. Noah frowned as he tried to work out why that was.

Galatea looked at Clare from where she was sprawled on the floor, "You . . ."

The Number Forty Seven warrior ignored her, to busy trying to pull back her yoki. It was mostly surging from her right arm, Irene's arm. "Turn back. Damn it! Come on! Turn back!"

Dauf turned towards them, "Bastards!" He raised his remaining fist to strike them down.

"Stop!" "Wait, Dauf!" Both of the Abyssal ones called out, united in their desire to see this play out. Dauf paused, not happy, but still obeying Riful.

Clare continued to mutter to herself, trying to turn back and pull back her yoki. Beside her, Galatea closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling Clare's yoki and focussing on it.

Riful grinned, "Almost . . ."

"I can't . . . any more . . ." Clare raised her sword jerkily to her throat, wanting to finish it before she lost her mind and Awakened.

There was a brilliant shimmer of white light, and suddenly Clare's yoki retreated and she was back to normal. Everyone but Galatea stared in shock.

The Number Forty Seven warrior turned to her much higher ranked comrade, who spoke as she slumped slightly, "I . . . can't believe that I really brought you back."

Clare blinked in shock, "You did that . . . just now, Galatea?"

But the third ranked warrior shook her head slightly, "I just tried to pull you back. I can see why the Organisation wanted to keep an eye on you, and had me go around looking for you. What are you?"

The two warriors stared into each others eyes, neither of them backing down, before a voice rang out and interrupted them.

"Aww, man! What gives? I thought she was going to Awaken." The girl pouted for a second, but suddenly cheered up. "A high-numbered warrior who can manipulate yoki, and a mysterious warrior who can turn back after crossing her limits. I'm loving you two!" The two warriors shared a glance, both confused by the rapid change in attitude by the girl.

The girl smiled, "I'll let you two become my allies." As she finished talking, Riful stopped trying to hide her yoki, allowing the power of it to be sensed by the two Claymores.

Clare shivered, "What . . . is this huge and monstrous yoki? What is she?"

Galatea turned towards the lower ranked warrior, "In the long history of warriors, there have been three disastrous cases where the Number One ranked warrior has Awakened. Once during the age of male warriors, and twice during the age of female warriors. They were called the three powers, becoming the strongest of all Awakened beings, and they spread out across the continent."

The girl was smirking during this story, and the realisation of what she was sent shivers up both Claymore's spines, "One to the North, one to the South, and one to the West. Since they knew of each other's powers, they avoided unnecessary conflict with each other. From then on, they never appeared in the open again, and such was the depth of their power, that they were called the Abyssal ones."

"Abyssal ones?" Clare turned to look at the little girl again, wondering how strong the girl really was. The unwanted comparison to Priscilla ran through Clare's mind, and she frowned.

Galatea stared at the Abyssal One, "Correct, yes? Abyssal One, Riful of the West."

"Riful . . . of the West?"

"She was the very first Number One ranked female warrior in the Organisation. She reached the pinnacle at a very young age, and unleashed all of her powers."

Riful continued to smile at them, "You sure know a lot even though you're so young. There are some inaccuracies in your story though. It's not like we avoided conflict. It just so happened that the areas that we settled down in didn't over lap with each other."

Riful's smile suddenly widened, "And there aren't three Abyssal Ones."

Suddenly, a colossal amount of yoki, even more than Riful was giving off, began to emanate from the boy sitting next to her, causing Clare and Galatea's eyes to widen in shock and fear.

"There are four."

DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK

Please review and tell me what you think.