DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore.
AN: Sorry its late. High School is a bitch and my social life has recently come back to life, yay for me :) This was a hard chapter to write because I was really worried about how well I was doing the fight scene. Hope you enjoy :) (Side note, my Rigardo is probably way OOC in this chapter)
Answering reviews before I begin :) For Melchor and Orchamus, I can't remember if I answered your reviews the normal way . . . so I'll do it here :)
Orchamus: If that's for the quote, then no. If no one's guessed it by next chapter then I'll reveal the answer, and for the reward . . . . I don't know, I'll figure something out :) Thanks for reviewing.
Melchor: Thanks for reviewing, I really hope you enjoy the fight :)
marc: I'm glad you liked it. Yep :) Noah gets a lot of the spotlight, although I did put some focus on the other characters too . . . . . . enjoy and thanks :)
storyreaderlovespie: Cool. I hope you enjoy this one, and thanks for reviewing :)
algebraiya: I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I was hoping that Noah's entry was suitably dramatic :) I hope you enjoy this one too, thanks for reviewing :)
DBZLOVER: Thanks so much :) I'm really glad you liked it. Thanks again for reviewing :)
kyuubicannon: Glad you liked it :) Actually, the changes start to come into effect in this chapter, which is a little bit earlier than I planned and it threw my whole plot off course . . . . . . meh. I'll figure something out. I adore OC stories, and basically every story I have lying around on my hard drive is OC-centric, so hopefully I can make Noah a likeable character :) Thanks for reviewing :)
Freehawk: I hope you enjoy it :) Thanks so much for reviewing :)
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
I wake up put on my face
Identify with the human race
I fall asleep take off my face
Somehow the light can't keep up the pace
Don't be so hard on yourself
You've got so much to pull off the shelf
Pack it away then pack it in
Life is too short the air's getting thin
The dying moon compels the arrogant seas
The deathless me of me caught up in the tease
You still inspire me though you hurt and deceive
And if you hear me now awake in your sleep
~Fleeting Instant, Delerium
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
Noah scowled he ducked under Rigardo's vicious slash. He'd allowed himself to be distracted by the yoki that the former Number Two was pumping out, and Rigardo had used that chance to attack. It was probably how he'd killed one of the captains as well.
He could sense the Claymore's spreading out and searching for any survivors, and he hoped that they didn't get caught in the crossfire.
Rigardo was faster than he'd expected though, and that left the green haired boy grinning. He loved a challenge.
He leapt back out of the Awakened being's reach, and allowed more yoki to flow to his hands. His hands morphed, the fingers changing into sharp talons. He'd be able to extend them in the blink of an eye if he needed, plus he needed something to match Rigardo in hand to hand with.
Rigardo was surprised by the change, though he didn't allow it to show on his face. Was this just a partial transformation? Only single-digit ranked warriors were able to perform that, with varying amounts of success. Rigardo himself could only change his hands and feet. So how much could this boy change.
All was still for a second before both Awakened being and Abyssal One disappeared. They appeared in the air, arms moving too fast for the naked eye to follow. Noah grinned as he landed a light slash down Rigardo's chest, drawing first blood.
He landed with a soft thump on the snow covered ground, and bringing his left claw to his mouth, licked the dark purple blood that dripped from his talons. He kept his eyes locked with Rigardo's as he did so, and he could see the lion-like Awakened being tense in rage.
The former Number Two snarled, "You've proven that you're no weakling, so allow me to stop holding back." Once again, the Awakened being was surrounded with a swirling red cyclone of yoki, larger than before. He lunged forwards, faster than before and lashed out with both claws.
Noah caught them but was caught by surprise when Rigardo kicked him in the chest, sending him crashing through a row of houses. Rigardo grinned triumphantly, but the smile slipped away when a pair of virulent green eyes flared in the shadows before he was forced to dodge a barrage of tendrils that crashed into the ground where he'd been standing.
Rigardo extended his claws, sending them slicing through the air towards the gutted shell that used to be a house. Noah's tendrils withdrew milliseconds before Rigardo struck, and the house disappeared in a cloud of dust and debris. Rigardo withdrew his tendrils, but stayed alert and kept scanning the area. The boy had already proved to be a powerful opponent, and it was unlikely that he'd been destroyed by that attack.
Rigardo wasn't disappointed as several tendrils burst through the ground, punching several holes through his stomach. He growled in rage and slashed through them, quickly yanking the remnants from his abdomen.
Time to try a new approach
Instead of attacking Noah, he disappeared towards one of the team leaders that he'd sensed before. There was no reason why he couldn't finish his original objective, was there?
Noah scowled and dashed after him, pushing more yoki to his legs to bypass the lion-like being. He was taking a risk with the amount of yoki he was using. He was confident that Rigardo's was covering it still, but a little bit more and the sensors watching the battle would realise that it was something else fighting Rigardo.
Noah leapt through the air and extended his fingers again, lashing out at. He tensed and twisted his tendrils to lash out at the lion-like being, "What's the matter, Rigardo? Afraid I'll win if you actually try to fight me?"
Rigardo smirked at him, though it did nothing to hide the smouldering rage in his bright silver eyes. The brat was getting on his last nerves, and now the green haired boy was standing between him and the girl, who looked terrified.
Noah glanced over his shoulder at the Number Eight. Flora looked scared, one hand clenching the handle of her sheathed sword while the other steadied the unconscious body of one of her comrades. "When I distract him, I want you to run, ok?"
Flora nodded shakily, and readied herself to make a dash for it.
Rigardo gave a chuckle, "It's been so long since I've had a fight that lasted this long. Ever since I faced Isley, it's been nothing but weakling after weakling."
Noah smirked, "Don't worry, after this fight, you won't face any more weaklings after this." And then he darted forwards, lashing out with his tendrils. Rigardo roared with pain as one of them by passed his defences, punching through his shoulder.
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
Flora dashed to the left, heading towards the yoki auras of the other warriors, trying to ignore sounds battle, the wet tearing of flesh, snarls and growls of rage joined by the soft thumps as the two monsters behind her tried to tear each other apart.
Her heart was beating like a hammer, pounding at her rib cage. The Number Eight didn't think she'd ever felt yoki so full of malice and rage before. What really scared her was that the boy wasn't even fully releasing his, still mostly in human form. And he was easily matching Rigardo blow for blow!
Flora leapt into a building through the gaping hole in the wall, ignoring the red and purple blood splashed around the edges. The rest of the surviving warriors were already waiting for her, more unconscious warriors being held carefully to avoid provoking their wounds.
Miria looked up as the Number Eight ranked warrior arrived, "You're the last one, Flora. Is this everyone still alive?"
They all nodded grimly. There were seven of them still conscious, the four remaining captains plus Clare, Helen and Deneve, and there were another five warriors who had been knocked unconscious but not killed. Uma, Cynthia, Tabitha, Zelda and Queenie.
None of the remaining warriors could fully make out the blurs that were Noah and Rigardo, darting in and out of buildings in explosions of debris, snow and blood. Occasionally, the two of them would stop and catch their bearings, one or both of them snarling out some indistinguishable words to the other before they both blurred out of sight again.
Jean was watching the two intently, tracking the movements with her eyes to the best of her ability. The Number Nine didn't think she'd ever seen such a fast paced battle, even Miria would have problems going at such high speeds!
Undine wasn't carrying anyone, both of her swords clenched tightly in her hands. "What are we doing in here? Why is that, thing, fighting our battle?"
Miria turned to look at her sharply, "Noah is fighting an enemy that even I would lose against, Undine, and we have his word that he isn't going to harm any of us."
Undine laughed harshly, "His word? You're going to trust the word of a monster?"
The others were watching this in silence, until Jean spoke up, "Clare and Noah prevented me from completely Awakening. He didn't need to, and he could have stopped Clare at any time. But he didn't. Why would he do that if he wanted to hurt us? Why didn't he kill all of us while we were preparing for the attack?"
The gathered Claymore's stood and processed that. The Number Nine ranked warrior had a point. Why were they all still alive if the green haired boy meant to kill them. He was moving too fast for most of them to track and he was fighting evenly against Rigardo, who was a former Number Two.
Flora spoke first, "I think we should trust him. For now."
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
It had started snowing, Noah idly noted, watching the blood drip from his claws to stain the pristine white ground. The few slashes that Rigardo had managed to land on him had already healed over, causing the green haired boy to smirk. Unfortunately for the former Number Two, Rigardo was an offensive type, and his wounds were slow to close over.
Noah tilted his head, and started bouncing the blood spattered arm in his hand up and down, "I have to admit, you're not as fast as I was expecting."
Rigardo growled at him, clenching one clawed hand around the stump that was all that was left of his right arm. The brat was too fast to be a lower level single digit. "What rank were you?"
Noah smiled condescendingly at him, "Former Number One, Noah."
Rigardo froze. An Abyssal One? It wasn't possible. Someone would have known, the burst of yoki would have been felt over most of the continent. "You're lying. Isley is the only male Abyssal One."
Noah grinned cruelly, "Is he now?" The green haired boy let the yoki flow in his eyes increase, causing them to turn completely green and begin to glow. It was something only an Abyssal One could do, each of them having a different colour.
Rigardo felt the first flicker of true fear. Against a lower level single digit, even with only one arm, he could still win. But against an Abyssal One . . . there wasn't a chance. The only way to survive was to run. He'd learned that the hard way after coming up against Isley . . . and that woman.
The lion-like being's eyes flickered to the right, and as Noah tensed, he dashed off, pouring all of his power into his legs. The Abyssal One just smiled predatorily and took off after him.
Rigardo tried to avoid the barrage of tendrils, but this time, he was moving too fast to be able to dodge properly. There was a burst of purple mist as three tendrils burst through his chest, and he gasped for breath as he was jerked to a stop.
Noah slowly approached, cautious of any surprise attacks. Rigardo just turned to look at him over his shoulder, "You may have beaten me, but against that woman . . . . you don't have a chance."
Noah cocked an eyebrow, "Oh really? Can the One Horned woman really face two Abyssal Ones and win, all by herself?"
Rigardo's silence was telling, and Noah smirked, the lack on an answer was telling. By now, the green haired boy was within arms reach of the lion like being, and in a last desperate attack, Rigardo lashed out with his claws, aiming for Noah's head.
There was a blur, and a soft thump as Rigardo's remaining arm fell to the ground and stained it darkish purple. Noah just tutted as his tendrils withdrew from the former Number Two's body, and began to coil around the lion-like being. "A fighter to the finish." He smirked at the captive Awakened being, and began to tighten his hold, cutting into flesh and muscle. "I guess this the end for you, Silver-Eyed Lion King."
Rigardo said nothing in his final moments, watching the Abyssal one with a fiery glare as he was shredded to pieces. Torn and ripped chunks of flesh fell to the ground in a spray of purple blood, and Noah withdrew his yoki, returning his arms to their human state.
He looked at the pieces of the Awakened being pensively, "Waste not . . ." He muttered. He crouched down and reached for a hunk of flesh.
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
The Claymore's all swivelled their heads to the north when they felt Rigardo's yoki surge and then die away.
Miria's eyes widened, "He did it . . ." She said in a small whisper.
No one said anything for a second, sensing Noah's yoki fade to nothing, leaving them seemingly alone in Pieta.
"It's over." Clare said, a slight hint of relief colouring her voice. There was no doubt in her mind that Noah hadn't survived the battle. The Abyssal one hadn't come close to releasing all of his power during the fight.
"No, it's not." They all turned to look at the Number Six ranked warrior, "There's still the Organisation and their watchers." The hopeful mood that had been building was crushed by the Claymore's statement.
Jean spoke first, "Your back up plan of the yoki suppressants won't work now. They would've sensed the Awakened beings leaving, and if our yoki auras disappeared now, well, it wouldn't make sense and they'd send warriors to investigate."
Undine snorted, "I say we take our chances. The sensors wouldn't be strong enough to take us out. We should run now."
They all considered it before Miria shook her head, "No, we don't know what forces they have. It could just be a sensor, but it could also be a group, or even a single digit."
A shiver went down the spines of the group. The only single digits not present were the top five, and not even Miria could hope to defeat one of them.
There was a silent rush of air, and the Claymore's spun around, drawing their blades only to find Noah leaning against the door way of the building.
Undine and Flora tightened their grips on their swords. The Awakened being was covered in blood, purple blood to Flora's silent relief, while Undine was to enraged to notice.
"You won't have to worry about those sensor's any more."
Helen blinked, "Really?" The others froze as they understood the true meaning behind his words.
"You bastard!" Undine roared as she dashed forwards, blades poised to slash at the Awakened being.
Noah didn't even appear move, and the Number Eleven was sent flying back into the wall, leaving a patch of crushed bricks as she slid to the floor, swords still clutched in her hands. She coughed several times as pain blossomed in her chest.
The rest of them froze as Noah frowned impatiently, "Now, if you're finished, we need to leave. It won't be long before the Organisation sends a squad to find the missing sensors."
Clare sheathed her sword, "Where are we going?"
Noah shrugged, watching Undine struggle to her feet, "It's up to you I suppose, although West is the safest option."
Flora frowned as she watched the Number Eleven ranked warrior glare fiercely at the boy, "Why West?"
"Riful rules over the West."
Flora gaped, "You want to go towards an Abyssal One?"
The boy just laughed, "Riful and I have an alliance, I'm perfectly safe in her territory."
Undine spoke gruffly, "What about us? I bet you're just leading us into a trap."
Noah shook his head, "You're under my protection for now, and Riful knows better than to cross me."
Flora stared at him, "And you think you can go against an Abyssal One of her power? You may have beaten Rigardo, but Riful is in a different league entirely."
Jean spoke quietly, "Noah is a former Number One, in other words, he is the fourth Abyssal One."
The Number Eight ranked warrior gaped at the boy, fearfully shuffling back. Noah just smirked and turned to Miria, "So, where to?"
Miria thought for a moment. The Organisation was based in the East, so that was out, and trying to head to the South would bring them through to many regions protected by Claymore's, and they wouldn't be able to avoid them all. So, that left only the West and the North.
On one hand, the North was almost deserted, but . . . they still didn't know where Isley was or his mysterious woman. While in the West, they had a much larger chance of survival with Noah on their side.
She nodded, "West it is then."
Noah nodded, a small smile on his face, "I knew you'd see it my way."
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
Hope you liked it :) Please tell me what you thought or even if you thought it needs to be scrapped and rewritten.
Phoenix