DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore, I only own Noah
AN: It's been a while, but I hope that people are still enjoying it :)
DZ: Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review :)
carlsniper: Uhhhhh, no? Clare and Raki will most likely be paired together, I'm not entirely sure. Noah and Galatea? Pretty unlikely. I don't have any plans for Noah being in a pairing, because this story isn't really about the pairings. However, I hope that no one throws a hissy fit at me, Because Luciela and Rafaela are going to be pretty close in this story, and I don't want anyone to freak out about it. However, Riful and Dauf are together :D Not that it really matters, because Dauf doesn't get a lot of screen time in this . . . . . .
Orchamus: Ahahaha, thanks :) And thanks for reviewing :)
marc: Thanks :) I'm sorry, it just seems to be the right place to end it, so my apologies for the chapter length. I hope you're still enjoying it anyway, and thanks for reviewing :)
Freehawk: Good question. Answer? It's Riful :P She's spent more then twenty years (in my story anyway, according to cannon she's tortured and killed around 27 Claymores or something trying to get one to Awaken) capturing and killing Claymores, she's an Abyssal One at the top of the food chain, and honestly, the only one that's a threat to her is Miria, and that is a tiny little threat at that. Plus, Noah just brought her a surplus of potential soldiers, what's not to her advantage about the situation? Thanks for reviewing and I hope that answered your question :)
storyreaderlovespie: Very good :) Miria probably would think of that, excellent leader that she is :) And you're right, all that Miria really knows (and that's more than most of the others know at this point) is that Noah is willing to help them against Rigardo, is friendly towards Clare and Jeane, and can kill them all :) Thanks for reviewing :)
DBZLOVER: Thanks :) I'm glad you liked it, I always hope that my explanations make sense and are satisfying, because my reasons don't always make sense, and I tend to ramble, thanks for reviewing :)
kyuubicannon: Thanks for reviewing :)
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
I feel a stirring deep within
Slowly picking up momentum
Like the tide coming into shore
Over and under in its course
This feeling emblazed inside
Every nerve like a firefly
Hovering above me
Glow
Glowing, divine
Every nerve like a firefly
Every nerve like a firefly
This feeling emblazed inside
Every nerve like a firefly
I never want to lose
what I have finally found
There's a requiem, a new congregation
And it's telling me
Go forward and walk
Under a brighter sky
Every nerve glowing like a firefly
~Euphoria (Firefly), Delerium
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
The sound of angry voices accompanied Rafaela's return to consciousness, along with the feeling of almost a dozen unfamiliar yoki auras surrounding her. She carefully concealed any signs that she had woken, and took inventory of any injuries, of which there were none thankfully.
Whoever had attacked her had been stupid enough to leave her sword still in it's sheath, and her sister was pressed close to her side. A plan quickly formed in her mind, and when it seemed like the presence's inside the cave were distracted, she opened her eye and sprang to her feet, increasing her yoki as she quickly blurred out of the cave, carrying her unconscious sister with her.
Several of the presence's followed her, but only one of them was managing to keep up with her. Rafaela allowed herself a small smile in triumph, certain that even that one would fall behind. She hadn't been Number Two for nothing, and it was doubtful that any of the presence's had been ranked higher than a low single digit.
Unfortunately for her, the Number Five ranked warrior came to a dead end, surrounded by cliffs that were beyond even her ability to jump. She reached up to unsheathe her sword, when a voice rang out.
"You're much too fast to be Number Five, Rafaela. I think someone's been telling lies."
She turned around slowly, gripping her sword tightly in her hand and making sure that she had a tight grip on Luciela. "Who are you, and why did you kidnap me?"
A boy stepped into the dead end, a smug smile spreading across his face, but stayed silent. Rafaela yanked her sword out, and levelled it at the boy with a steady hand, "Answer me!"
The boy's smile grew, and he disappeared. Rafaela spun around, and slashed, almost cutting the boy's arm off before he spun away.
Noah landed several metres away, blood gushing from the cut through his upper arm. He grinned at Rafaela, the wound quickly closing over, "Well, well, well . . . . . what rank were you really, Rafaela? Number Three?"
She gritted her teeth, she'd never seen an Awakened being regenerate so fast, and that included Luciela in her Awakened form. "Number Two."
Noah whistled, "Impressive." He disappeared. "But . . . ."
Rafaela prepared for an attack, but Noah completely by passed her. The former Number Two spun, and saw the green haired boy reaching for her sister. She blurred into action, slashing at the boy's head before planting a foot into his stomach hard enough to send him flying.
She stood in front of Luciela, single eye narrowed in rage, "You will not touch her!" for the first time in decades, Rafaela's yoki started to emanate from her body, faint blue-purple swirls of light rising from her skin.
Noah pushed himself off of the ground, wiping a trickle of purple blood from his chin. "If it's a fight you want . . . ."
The green haired boy disappeared, and Rafaela felt something smash into her back, causing her ribs to creak under the strain. The blow sent her flying through the air, and the Number Five ranked warrior barely managed to land her feet, gasping as she struggled to get oxygen back into her lungs.
The boy smirked, "Then it's a fight you'll get."
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
Miria stopped for a second to catch her breath. Rafaela was much faster than she'd expected, and it had taken several 'jumps' to even catch up.
Had she underestimated the top single ranked digits? Rafaela was only ranked Five, but far more powerful than she'd though possible.
The short haired woman was managing to hold her own against Noah, even though she was reaching the eighty percent limit of yoki use, while Noah was barely using enough to match her. The Abyssal One looked more amused than anything else by Rafaela's efforts, although he was fairly blood spattered, most of it a familiar purple colour. The colour of yoma blood.
She was poised to draw her sword, when a hand on her arm stopped her. She whipped her head to the side to see the little brown haired girl that had entered the cave with Noah standing besides her. "What are you doing?" The Number Six hissed at her, tugging at her arm, trying to free it from the girl's iron grip.
"Don't interfere, little girl." Riful's mouth quirked at the irony, "Noah is perfectly capable of dealing with the cyclops on his own, and you'll only get in his way if you try to help."
Several Claymores, Deneve and Undine by the feel of their yoki, with the the rest following close behind, landed on the ground behind the Abyssal One and her captive. Too quick for most of them too follow, Riful's free arm lashed out, and suddenly morphed into dozens of deep green tendrils, wrapping around the assembled warriors.
She grinned innocently as they struggled to free themselves, "Actually, I think it would be best if none of you interfere in this. You might spoil it, you know."
Clare glared at her, "Spoil what?" She almost spat the words, trying in vain to reach for her sword.
Riful didn't even turn to the short haired Claymore, completely engrossed in the fight, a mixed look of irritation, envy and pride playing across her face. "Noah is about to achieve the one thing I could never accomplish, even after almost two decades of failed attempts, you know."
Clare was torn between watching the Abyssal One, or turning her attention to the fight ahead, but eventually she spoke, voice still filled with venom. "And what is that?"
"Forcing a high-ranked Claymore into Awakening."
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
Noah panted lightly as dozens of cuts all over his body hissed and closed. Rafaela had lost none of her skills over the years, despite only having one eye. Having a sword put her on par with Rigardo in his Awakened form, and combined with the fact that Noah didn't want to kill her, it was a surprisingly difficult battle.
He took in the bruised and bleeding form of the Claymore in front of him, grimacing as her yoki became stronger, and even more visible to the naked eye. He gritted his teeth and lunged, silently reminding himself that this really was for the best.
He ducked under a slash that would have neatly decapitated him, and kicked the short haired warrior, knocking her back a few paces. Noah bit back a growl as he jumped out a of retaliation strike.
She was already starting to change physically, that kick should have sent her flying, and if he was a normal Claymore, he would have broken a bone or two in his foot. Just a little bit more, and she'd be too far gone to prevent herself from Awakening.
He looked around himself, and seeing the miraculously unconscious body of Luciela, dashed towards it, keeping a close eye on Rafaela.
Like he had predicted, the warrior dashed towards her sister, and mid-leap, exploded into a supernova of yoki, almost blinding everyone watching. An enormous column of red, blue and purple light ascended into the sky, and Noah was forced to leap backwards as shock waves started tearing up the earth around the Awakening warrior and her sister, who was eclipsed in the light.
Riful leaned forwards, a hungry light in her eyes. "Beautiful . . . ." She whispered, and Miria was too terrified to even feel disgusted at her attitude. The sheer amount of yoki would have been frightening enough, it was comparable to that of Rigardo, but the malice pouring out of the Awakening warrior was enough to render her speechless.
Some of the lower ranked warriors weren't faring as well, and would have fled if not for Riful's tendrils restraining them.
Clare was shaking, her mind filled with flashbacks to that day in the mountains. If anything Priscilla's Awakening had felt even more powerful than this, but it was lacking . . . . . . . blood-lust.
Priscilla's enormous yoki surge that accompanied her Awakening was . . . . emotionless. It was as if she had been completely apathetic to everything, including Teresa's death. And somehow that scared Clare, the fact someone could be so uncaring to becoming a monster.
They all watched as the light gradually faded away, small wisps of vicious red yoki swirling around the large form crouched in the centre of a jagged crater.
Riful licked her lips, staring hungrily at the newly Awakened Rafaela, eyes sweeping over the transformed girl.
Rafaela rose to her feet slowly, and Riful carefully examined her. Rafaela was still remarkably human looking, her form completely covered in a stark white armour, with occasional red streaks. There was a narrow crack where her mouth should have been, and a thick strip of blackness, with a pair of luminescent golden eyes staring out. The back of her skull was unprotected, thick blood-red hair spiking our to form a jagged mane at the back of her head.
A pale human form was cradled in her arms, and everyone froze as Luciela fought her way back into conciousness. Her large emerald green eyes fluttered, and Rafaela bent closer to her sister, an unknown emotion flickering in her gaze.
Their eyes met, and Luciela smiled slowly, "Rafaela . . ." She muttered, reaching up to caress her sister's face. Noah and Riful watched in amazement as Rafaela's eyes slid shut, and she leaned into her sister's touch.
"Soulbond."
Noah turned around to stare at Riful, "What did you say?"
Riful didn't even look at him, staring at the two sister's with complete fascination, "For years the Organisation has tried to create the perfect warrior, able to Awaken at will, yet still remain in control. The latest attempt was by using siblings, where they would synchronise their yoki and merge their minds, and when one Awakened, the other would harbour their mind until they transformed back. Luciela and Rafaela were the closest to completing that experiment, until in the final test, Rafaela couldn't hold both her mind and that of her sister's and the link broke. Luciela fully Awakened, and rampaged throughout the East, devastating the Organisation and killing over half their warriors."
Everyone tried to digest that piece of information, while Luciela broke the staring contest and turned to look at Noah.
She smiled, and pushed herself out of Rafaela's arms, landing on her feet smoothly. The Awakened being growled, but didn't grab the Abyssal One again, following her closely while keeping a defensive stance behind her sister.
She stopped, and cocked a hip, folding her arms under her substantial chest. "And who might you be?"
Noah shifted, narrowing his eyes. Luciela might be extremely weakened, but the confidence she was showing was slightly . . . . unnerving.
"My name is Noah."
She smiled predatorily, blinking slowly, "And should that mean something to me?"
Noah smirked, and flared his yoki. For a second, an enormous presence covered the area, and everyone except Riful was left shaken and wide-eyed. Luciela's calm demeanour was blown, jade green eyes staring into Noah's milky green orbs. "Impossible!"
Noah shook his head, "No, not impossible, just improbable. After all, no one would expect an Abyssal One to retain enough control over his yoki to mask his Awakening." He smirked at her.
Luciela took a deep breath, "What do you want then?" She took a small step back towards her sister, who shifted, growling quietly.
Noah gave Rafaela a look, and flared his yoki again, directing it towards to Awakened being. Rafaela's growl cut off, and she whimpered slightly, much to Noah's satisfaction.
"I propose an alliance."
Luciela stared at him, then threw back her head and laughed. Noah waited for her to finish, and took the chance to further examine the newly Awakened Rafaela. There was a strange series of holes ringed around her wrists, extending up to her forearms. The pattern was matched on her legs, leading from around her ankles to her knees. Noah absently wondered if the holes had a function, perhaps that was where her tendrils sprouted from?
Finally, Luciela calmed down enough to speak. "An alliance? Between us? And I suppose you would be in command?"
Noah shook his head, "No, Luciela, I don't mean for you become my lieutenant, I meant an equal partnership between myself, you and Riful."
Luciela cocked her head, intrigued despite her doubts, "And what would the purpose of this alliance be?"
Noah looked directly into her eye. "The elimination of the White Silver King of the North, Isley, and his lover, the One Horned Woman, Priscilla."
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
And that's the end of that chapter. I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter to be written, but I honestly hadn't noticed how long it had been since I last updated :( Sorry.
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it, leave any questions or complaints in a review :)
Phoenix