Disclaimer: Do not own. Now or Ever.
AN: Oh my God! An update within a month? Claps for me! Actually this one was much, much easier than I thought to write, but then it was mostly written anyway . . . moving on. I hope you enjoy it, this one might be a bit confusing, so tell me if it needs to be rewritten . . . again.
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
Can't you see their eyes, what lies inside
They've given up, they no longer shine
Too soon they close with one last cry
Before they turn to white
Just to hurt you
It's burning me up inside
Lost all my tears, can't cry
No reason, no meaning
Just hatred
No matter how hard I try
You fear the beast inside
It's growing, it's waiting
Just to hurt you
~Blue Eyes, Within Temptation
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
With a heavy thud, the tall, cream coloured Awakened being landed in the middle of Pieta. Dozens of civilians stood around him, motionless in their fear. "Good evening, citizens of Pieta . . ."With a slight surge of yoki, the four chain like tendrils, sprouting from his back, whipped around him, bisecting over forty civilians in one attack, "And goodbye . . ." His voice was filled with cruel humour as he grinned as the sight of blood dancing through the air.
The humans who survived started to panic, running as fast as they could to escape. The Awakened being lashed out with his tendrils again, spearing human after human through the chest and head.
He turned around and saw a young girl running for her life, and with a dark chuckle, he lined up a tendril and launched it at her. The tendril never made contact, the tip sliced off before it could reach her. The former Claymore grinned, "Those were some nice moves you made."
Miria ignored him, and after making sure the girl was gone, called out to her comrades, "Everyone, take your team formations!"
Two dozen Claymores ran out of the nearby buildings, holding their swords, ready for battle. They spread out into their teams, making sure not to clump together and provide an easy target.
The cream coloured being stood up tall, examining the warriors surrounding him, "Wow, what a great view. I rarely get surrounded by so many girl's . . ."
Again, Miria ignored him, "My Miria team will take on the one in front of us. Flora team, take the one on the roof to the right. Jean team, take the one on the stone tower to the left. Undine and Veronica team, stand by. Assist the team in trouble, based on the situation."
The Awakened being on the roof, still in human form and shrouded in a long cloak, whispered to himself, although the other Awakened beings and Noah, could hear him. "Oh, oh, oh, I thought they'd be panicking from our surprise attack, but they're unexpectedly calm. I planned on taking the spoils amidst the chaos, but out cover got blown already"
"She must have gone through many hellish situations. A very good leader. But . . . she'd forgotten not all of them are used to fighting Awakened beings . . ." This time it was the Awakened being on the stone tower who spoke, his voice a steady monotone.
Miria yelled out to her fellow Claymores, "Forward!" And the battle began.
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Noah sat down against a chimney, perched on the roof of a house on the outskirts of Pieta. He had wanted to watch the battle in person, but he would probably be spotted that way, and with the warriors on a hair trigger, most likely attacked.
However, it was a risk he was willing to take. The Abyssal One closed his eyes, ignoring what his physical senses were telling him, as even they couldn't tell him enough. His sensing ability magnified to cover the surrounding mountain side, and every single Claymore and Awakened being in the city became like a beacon of light in his mind. Noah could easily tell the difference between the different lights, using the size and the texture of the yoki to identify the person. It was a skill that took years to master, and Noah had tried to refine it as much as possible.
He watched as Flora and Undine's teams engaged the manipulator. The Number Eight ranked warrior had the right idea, launching the initial attack, but she obviously wasn't expecting the Awakened being's skill at paralysing them with their own yoki. Manipulators were rare to find, with maybe one every ten or so generations.
Clare's use of her Quick Sword, even while paralysed by her own yoki, was a surprise, something that Noah hadn't been expecting. However, Undine's attitude towards her team and Flora's didn't improve throughout the fight, he could see the frustration and worry pulsing through her aura. Still it didn't excuse her from rushing ahead from everyone else, she was lucky to be breathing at all. Noah watched with curiosity as Clare and Deneve appeared to go over their limits, but attacked the Awakened being seconds later, perfectly fine. Being partially Awakened must've improved their limits.
He was surprised when, even though Deneve and Undine separated his head from his shoulders, the Awakened being still managed to push two Claymore's into trying to cut each other's heads off. If it wasn't for Clare and Flora turning the decapitated head into meat shreds, they would have succeeded too.
Over with the Number Nine's team, Jean didn't fare so well, getting herself injured as she struggled to keep her team alive. By the time that everyone else in her team was down, she had a multitude of small scratches and cuts, while the Awakened being she was fighting didn't have a mark on him.
Veronica's team came in at the perfect moment, and Helen quickly forced the insect like being to back off. Her special attack was one he'd never seen from a Claymore. She could extend her arms and quite possibly her legs, just like most Awakened beings did with their fingers. That battle was much shorter than Clare and Deneve's, with Veronica's team and Jean quickly making up a plan.
The defensive types quickly launched attack after attack, taking blows themselves as they did so. Jean prepared her Drill Sword as the other's distracted the Awakened being and tried to wear him out. When Jean was ready, she appeared beneath the Awakened being and held her sword against him, as Helen wrapped her extended arm around his upper limbs. The two partially Awakened warriors launched their attacks and all of the giant insect's numerous arms were removed. Veronica and another warrior jumped in the air and promptly destroyed the the Awakened being.
Miria and her team had the hardest time of all five teams, battling the Awakened being without a support team. Noah watched the Number Six warrior closely, curious as to how powerful she really was. He was pleased when Miria performed beyond his initial expectations, rallying her team with her encouraging words. The Number Six warrior's special ability was something to marvel at especially. Using sudden bursts of yoki to accelerate to lightning speeds was genius. Unfortunately, when she was distracted with moving one of her comrades out of harms way, another, lost most of her left arm. However, that only served to piss Miria off, and she attacked the cream coloured Awakened being in a focused rage.
Darting in and out, the Number Six ranked warrior quickly cut off the Awakened being's right arm and all four of his tendrils. Need less to say, he didn't last much longer before she sliced his head off.
Noah listened as Flora explained Miria's goal by placing everyone into their teams, and the Abyssal One had to commend the Number Six again. It was a good way of giving everyone a taste of real combat against an Awakened being.
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Noah watched as Clare and Flora sparred, Quick Sword against Windcutter, with Jean looking on in silence.
He thought about what he was going to do when Isley's army started their true assault on Pieta. Riful had always said that he was too soft, to human, and in some points she was right.
The decision to abstain from human flesh had been a hard one, and even now he could feel the urge to rip, tear and feed! The former Number One doubted it would ever fade, but the satisfaction that Noah got from denying it, along with the knowledge that countless humans would die if he did give in, was enough to keep him from succumbing to the sometimes mind crushing hunger.
Instead, the Abyssal One hunted down and fed from his lesser kin, the Awakened beings. There were good reasons for this, and it made him a little bit surprised no one else had tried it. For one, Awakened beings were usually much, much larger than any human, and one was normally enough to stem his hunger.
Another reason was that it was better for him to feed on the former Claymore's, as humans were so weak, while Awakened beings were overflowing with yoki. Noah was almost certain that the yoki-enriched flesh had helped accelerate his own growth in power, or maybe it was just the years spent in the cave with but training and the occasional hunt when someone entered the cave system to amuse himself with?
Noah spent several hours thinking. He would fight Rigardo, that much was certain, but the question was should he interfere with the rest of the fighting? It wasn't any of his concern, but he couldn't help but consider the idea. Clare and Jean would be fighting, and while he wasn't exactly their friend, he would still keep anyone else from killing them.
There were several others who interested him, and the realisation made him question himself. Maybe Riful was right? Maybe he was going soft? After all, why should he be interested in helping a bunch of Claymores?
He put the thought out of his mind to think about later. It was starting to give him a head ache. In the end though, all that mattered was that Clare and Jean lived, and that Rigardo died.
Just thinking of fighting the former Number Two was making him shiver in excitement. Rigardo had been renowned for his speed and it made Noah wonder how he would measure up, not able to use too much of his yoki or risk alerting Isley or the Organisation, both of whom were no doubt watching closely, eagerly awaiting the outcome.
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Before long, it was morning and Miria was calling all of the Claymores together for a meeting. She used the town hall for the gathering, it was after all, the only building large enough to hold all of the warriors. Noah lay down on the roof, still easily able to hear everything that was being said within with his enhanced hearing.
Once everyone had settled, Miria stood up. She placed a yoma suppressant pill on the table in front of her and neatly split it in half with her sword. She lifted one half up into the air. "All of you, will take one of these before the battle."
Flora was the first to speak, "Half a . . . yoma suppressant?"
Miria nodded, "If you take just half, neither your yoki will be suppressed nor will you be unable to sense the enemy's yoki. You will be able to fight the same as usual. But should you lose consciousness . . . the instant your yoki completely stops, the suppressant's effects will kick in."
No One said anything, completely shocked by the statement. Flora said the thought that was running through some of their minds, "In other words, we'll be able to play dead."
Miria nodded, "Tomorrow's battle isn't a battle to win, it's a battle to survive! But even if we just abandon this mission and run away, we'll only become targets for the Organisation's purge."
She straightened up, looking each of the warriors gathered there in the eye, "That is why by all means, I want a reality where each of us was 'killed in action'!"
She continued on, not daring to stop, thinking she might not be able to go on if she did, "I think you already understand as much, but with this plan . . . the chances of surviving are incredibly low." The Number Six clenched her fists, "Rather, you could call it a plan to save a few by sacrificing many . . ."
Miria bowed her head, speaking faster now, "I'm sorry, but no matter how hard I think, this is the only way to survive I can think of. I know that it's inexcusable, but-"
She was cut of by a loud, brash voice, "That's great!" Everyone turned to look at the smiling Undine, "In a suicide mission, having even a shred of hope for survival is pretty damn good already! And this plan is fair. Strong ones and weak ones have an equal chance to survive. Even everyone surviving is unlikely, but not impossible."
Everyone's attention was directed at Flora next, "This is true. I also believe this is the best way to go. No grudges, whoever is left standing in the end . . . and the survivors will carry on the will of all us twenty four. Let's do it like that."
She turned around and held out her sword, smiling slightly, "Pray for luck, for as many of us as possible."
They all stood in a circle, joining swords for what could be the last time.
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And that's all for this chapter :) I hope you liked it and I hoped I didn't ramble on for too long or anything. I tried to go deeper in Noah's personality but I don't know how well it went. If no one likes it, I'll take it down and rewrite this chapter, so don't hesitate to say what you thought was awful in this chapter :)
Phoenix