So, I'm still not sure what you guys are seeing as Shakespearean dialect...as far as I can tell I have people speaking proper English, in a medieval setting...anyway, here is the new chapter, and review replies!
As always, I own nothing of Claymore, etc, etc and so forth.
Remember, this is an AU story and several characters will be OOC to a greater or lesser degree. I shouldn't need to tell you this, but there it is anyway.
Nanbuflare: Whelp, while I agree that the poisen thing could have been done better, I honestly had no idea how else to kill Priscilla. And she needed to die for the plot to actually be able to happen, so... As for them being called bitches, we know that happens thanks to the manga, so I presumed that the warriors either sucked it up, or the humans kept it to themselves whenever possible.
WandersShadow101: I'm glad I do not disappoint! It is very encouraging to hear that, and I hope you enjoy!
n0mster: Yeah, but like I told Nanbu, I had no idea how else to kill her. Also, the rods were an external attack, which the body defends against very well as it is recognized as a threat. In this poison's case however, think of it more as trying to defend yourself against your own blood cells. It wouldn't really go to well for you.
DragonOfKhaos: He will FORGIVE her, because I don't think Raki is the type to hold a grudge for a long time, but he won't be FORGETTING anytime soon, and it will affect his interaction with her.
Nasha Rei-kun: I'm not sure what you mean by "we would have seen it being tested". We've not seen anything of the Organization in this fic until now, and me and Dany le fou invented the poison (he more than I, to give credit where it is due) so I'm not sure what exactly you want me to have done.
Fangking2: I direct your attention to my reply to n0mster, as my explanation lies there.
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Silver Eyed Angel
Chapter Four
Number 00
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"You are a loyal servent to the Organization. Saving humanity from the evils of the Youma, Awakened Beings, and Dragon-kin is your only purpose. The Organization saved you and made you into a powerful sword to bring revenge onto those that kileld your family."
"I am a loyal servent to the Organization. My only purpose is to save humanity from the evils of the Youma, Awakened Beings, and Dragon-kin. The Organization saved me and made me powerful."
"Hmm, I think he is ready, Dae. Give him that last dose and let's get him ready to go out into the field. It's time to test our new model."
"Of course, Elder Rimuto."
"What do you want, Number Six?" a cold and emotionless male voice filled the room as Renee stepped up to the threshold, and she flinched heavily, eyes sad as she looked at the unfeeling shell that used to be Raki. Ever since he had awoken nine months ago, no longer human in body and seemingly in spirit, Raki had been nothing but an emotionless butcher of rogue warriors, youma, or Awakened Beings.
There he stood, bright silver hair shone in the light of the setting sun that filtered through the small window cut into the solid rock of the cliffside that formed The Organization's Headquarters. He was, as always, clad in the matte-black, specially-made armor that had been gifted to him when he had awoken from his "procedure", when Dae and his assistants had turned him into a warrior. The armor was larger and heavier than those of his female contemporaries, shielding not only his shoulders, but his chest, stomach, crotch, and thighs. His own claymore, forged of orichalcum and engraved with the rune representing Death, rested point-down on the ground, his gauntleted hands folded over the pommel.
"...I want him back.." she mumbled sadly, and Raki's eyes narrowed slightly, though she couldn't see it, and his shoulder's seemed to tense slightly.
"What was that?" he asked stoically, and Renee huffed angrily before repeating herself.
"I want him back. I want the REAL Raki back, not the emotionless slave that is called #00 and lives in Raki's body." she replied, her own voice cold as her head came up and glared frostily.
Raki twitched slightly, and his eyes seemed to flash for a moment before he settled himself and responded, still in the same cold, dead monotone.
"I don't know what you're talking about, number six. I am Double 0 of the Organization, called The Executioner. I became a Claymore after my family was killed and eaten by Youma. The Organization saved my life and elevated me to a higher existence, giving my life purpose in the hunting of the monster's that took my family from me."
Renee drew herself up, a thunderous expression on her face as she hissed rather like an angry cat, glaring hatefully at Raki. But it was not hatred for him, oh no! It was hatred for what the Organization, with their drugs and "procedures" had done to him, to turn him into this...husk. This shade of his former self.
"Damnit Raki! What the hell is wrong with you?" she snarled, stalking over to him, yanking him around by his shoulder, and lifting him into the air by his breastplate, his sword dropping to clatter against the flagstones, ignored. Shoving her face until it was mere inches from his own, she continued. "I know that you're still in there somewhere! I know that whatever Dae and his merry band of psychopath's did to you could never break you! I know that this isn't the real you, so why don't you just come back to me!"
"What do you mean, number six?" Raki asked coldly, dropping the "drone" facade as his eyes hardened into a baleful glare of his own. "You're the reason I'm like this! You're the reason that I can here another voice in my mind, whispering to me, telling me things about the Organization, telling me to obey them! You turned Priscilla and myself in, you bitch, and now she is dead and I'm like this!"
Renee flinched again at the raw anger and hurt in his voice, and she felt something inside her break.
"You think I don't regret it? You think I don't cry at night after trying to talk to you, day after day, watching you turn into some monster that cares for no one? You think I don't hate myself for causing this? These last nine months have been as much an agony for me as they have for you!" she cried, slamming his back into the stone wall. Unbeknownst to her, tears had begun to run down her cheeks, but Raki saw them, and his eyes widened in surprise at the pure regret, pain, and self-loathing in her voice as she continued. This isn't what he had expected. "I tried so hard to convince them to leave you alone! I told them that Priscilla was too powerful, that you would destroy the Organization, I even told them that Isley would attack! But they didn't care! They wanted you, Raki, and they didn't care what it took! Nothing worked, and if I had tried to warn you I would have been executed promptly for treason, and you still would have been captured!"
"What do you mean, they wanted me?" Raki asked softly, almost gently, and Renee leaned her head against his breastplate, the cold metal pressing against her warm face and she shook it, refusing to answer as she continued to cry. Raki sighed lightly, feeling guilty, and slowly put his arms around the sobbing warrior. He never had been any good with comforting crying women, though one could hardly say he had a great deal of experience. All the same, he didn't have it in him be intentionally angry or cruel to a woman. "Renee, please, I need to know everything you can tell me."
Renee sniffled a couple of more times and took a step back, rubbing her tears away from her eyes and cheeks and Raki drew a handkerchief from his breastplate and handed it to her, which she accepted and cleaned herself up with before blowing her nose lightly. After she had fixed herself up, Raki repeated his question as gently as he could, and this time she replied.
"They guessed that since Awakened Beings of Isley's and Priscilla's level act and feel more human around you, than you might gain the power to control or keep controlled other warriors and Awakened Beings as a warrior, in addition to being immune to the call of the power itself, ensuring that you would be the "perfect warrior". By the time I figured out what direction their questions were leading, it was too late for me to head them off or lie without being easily caught out." A look of desperation, one Raki had never thought to see in a warrior, entered her eyes as she continued desperately, pleadingly. "Please, Raki, I never wanted this to happen to you! Please, you have to trust me! You...you can't leave me alone anymore!"
"I believe you, Renee, I truly do." Raki said gently, and Renee almost cried with relief at the honesty in his voice. Raki, however, continued. "But...it will take me a little while to be fully comfortable with you again, simply because...well, I care for you a great deal, Renee. You remind me alot of Clare, actually, but it...hurts to know that you turned me and someone who was like a sister to me in to the Organization." he held up a hand to halt her desperate protests. "I understand why you did it, and I agree that there was nothing you could do, but it still hurts."
"I understand, Raki. I'll earn your trust again, believe it!" Renee said fiercely, and Raki smiled at her warmly before he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, shocking both himself and her, and he blushed faintly as he turned away and used his foot to flip his sword into his hand. Turning back to the window, he became business-like again.
"You will be joining me on an important Awakened Being hunt in a fortnight, number six. Make sure you are ready for a two week mission." he ordered, and Renee schooled her face and gave a salute before disappearing out the door, careful not to let her happiness show where an Organization member might see it as she scampered back to her own room and prepared for the five hour long rest she was going to take before her next patrol around Staff proper.
Raki remained staring out his window for a long, long moment, and his eyes flashed to their original dark brown for a moment before reverting to gleaming silver as he looked to the north.
"Just wait a little bit longer, all of you. I will crush the Organization into dust, and then I will find you and bring you home to a much better world than when you left. I swear it." he murmured solemnly, before turning on his heel and striding from the room to head for a large city to the south-west, on the meeting point of the Southern, Western, Central, and Eastern Territories' boundaries. While on missions he had heard of an armless woman who never left her small cabin, with only a pair of young orphan girls looking after her. If his assumption was correct, her was going to see an old...acquaintance of Priscilla's, a powerful former number 2 and 3 of The Organization.
He was going to see Irene.
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Isley roared in rage as he obliterated yet another building in what used to be the town of Pieta, using his Awakened form's powerful bow to reduce it to dust. Shrinking down to his human form, Isley fell to his knees in the snow, tears streaking his cheeks for the first time in many years as he hunched over, leaning on his forearms as he lamented the loss of both his mate and the boy he had come to think of as a brother in some ways, and son in others. He had been right to be worried over their journey south, but he knew that they had planned for every conceivable issue that could rear its ugly head. Unfortunately, that left an inconceivable issue, and his grief turned briefly to mingled pride and rage as he thought back to the letter he had received from Raki, albeit in a roundabout fashion.
Brother,
I'm sorry. Priscilla is dead, and I have been turned into a slayer. We underestimated the Organization. They were waiting for us, and laced Priscilla's food with a poison that caused her Youki to run rampant and tear her apart from the inside out. Not before she took out about four of the dozen warriors they sent after us, though. After she finally fell...I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do to make it out. They used her flesh and blood to create me, but the situation is not untenable. Priscilla is...was to powerful to be controlled by another living being. The Organization thinks that I've been "reprogrammed" to think they rescued me as a child, and I do nothing to correct that belief. I'm going to begin making plans to destroy the Organization from the inside. I will have our revenge for Priscilla, and then, perhaps, we can move on to the larger picture. There is a war going on across the sea, between to great nations. One has enormous creatures, Dragon-kin, on their side. The other, outmatched, is using this island, Toulouse, to create their counter weapon.
Us.
I will send more news when I can risk it.
Raki
Sighing deeply, Isley pushed aside his oddly powerful emotions, got to his feet and flash-stepped away, heading for the manor had lived in since he had met Raki, where he began making plans to position his forces and himself to help Raki destroy the Organization and maintain control of their territories. It wouldn't do for Riful to become too powerful, after all.
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A single cloaked and cowled figure wandered slowly through a small thicket of claymores, each standing resolutely against the wind and the snow to mark the mounds from which they rose.
The graves of comrades dead for nearly six years.
Stopping at one, she knelt down before it and stared at the sword for a long moment, eyes upon the symbol etched into the blade, and her gleaming silver eyes closed for a long moment in sadness as she remembered the sacrifice of the warrior that she had laid to rest here.
Jeanne, where ever you are now, I hope that you are at peace. I hope it is warm, filled with sunlight, and peaceful. And I hope...that if you're watching me...that you're not disappointed. she thought to herself. After several long moments, the distinctive sound of someone walking through the snow reached her, and she got to her feet, turning to face the new arrival.
"Is everything still in order here, Clare?" the newly arrived slayer asked softly, long blonde hair framing her face as concerned eyes lit upon her friend. Clare looked down at Jeanne's grave for another moment, before nodding.
"All fine, Miria. Whatever Isley was so upset about, he managed to limit his destruction to the town proper. The graveyard was neither damaged nor disturbed in any fashion." she replied, and Miria nodded again, before gesturing with her head for Clare to follow her, which the younger warrior did quietly. As they walked, Miria spoke again.
"Clare, I know that waiting here in the North and training has been hard on you. I know that you yearn to find Raki, and to destroy the Organization like the rest of us, but I need you to be patient. We can almost completely hide our Auras, and our skills with our swords is nearly complete, but we're not yet ready to face the might of the Organization."
"I know, Miri." Clare replied softly, using the affectionate nickname she and the others had gifted their Captain. She sight lightly, and shook her head before continuing. "I miss him alot, Miri, and I've found no sign of him here in the North."
"Clare, you must understand," Miria said slowly, hesitant to say anything to hurt or anger her friend. "The odds of him surviving the Northern Campaign's battles and returning south without being killed by the weather, bandits, Youma, or Maker knows what else is..."
"Slim to none, I know! Damn it, haven't you all told me that enough?" Clare snapped angrily, before sighing and rubbing her eyes with one hand. "I'm sorry Miri, but I promised him I would see him again. I promised we would be together again. That promise has kept me going all this time, and if I lose hope in that, what do I have left? Revenge? Revenge can only get me so far before it destroys me. Ophelia showed me that much, it just took me a while to understand it."
"Indeed." Miria mused with a subtle but (in warrior terms) broad smile as she looked over at the former number 47. A few years ago, Clare had been a hothead prone to destruction first and questions later, but it seemed that the calming influence and maturity Raki had shown in her company had rubbed off on her, and finally come to fruition. Of course, she was still a hothead, had a large temper, and a rebel, but she simply had learned to control it better.
Mostly.
"I'm glad to hear that, Clare." she said finally, looking forward again as they neared a small manor house on the outskirts of Pieta that had, somehow, survived all this time. Large and fairly well furnished, it had several fireplaces and many bedrooms, allowing each of the surviving warriors to have their own room to themselves. It was here that the Ghosts of Pieta, as they called themselves, had made their home until they were ready to return to the South. Pushing open the door, she strode into the foyer and shucked her cloak, hanging it beside a fireplace to dry before heading for the living room, Clare doing the same behind her. Seven warriors lounged about the room comfortably, resting after hours of hard training, and Miria smiled as her eyes ran over them. She wished her plan had been able to save more, but three shy of half the force wasn't anything to be ashamed of. She knew that now, even if she hadn't at first.
Helen, the energetic loud mouth of the group.
Deneve, the stoic and dry-humored "old lady" of the group, and the inheritor of Undine's legacy as the wielder of the Twin Swords.
Tabitha, a skilled sensor, loyal to a fault. She survived thanks to being rendered unconscious during the fight.
Veronica, who by all rights should have died, if not for the timely sacrifice of Uma, who had taken the death-blow of Rigardo for her, buying the former number 13 enough time for Clare to arrive. A large scar under her breasts was testament to how powerful Rigardo had been, to nearly kill her even through another's body.
Cynthia, Veronica's closest friend and, now, a powerful Healer, who used her Youki to boost an ally's regeneration to unprecedented levels. She survived much like Tabitha, knocked out in battle and ignored by the Awakened in favor of more dangerous foes.
Lily, who had perhaps survived in the most embarrassing fashion possible. After her team killed an Awakened Being, at the loss of Wendy, a piece of flying rubble made airborne by another Awakened Beings attack had hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out for the entirety of the battle. Upon being woken by Cynthia after the dust had settled, she had immediately leapt to her feet to continue the fight, only to discover it had ended hours before.
Zelda, who had barely survived the final stand against Isley's army, and whom had only done so due to the timely arrival of Cynthia, who had returned to consciousness and been able to boost her regeneration enough for her to live, though she did lose an eye that Cynthia was unable to save.
"Ah, welcome back, Captain Miria, Clare." Tabitha said warmly, seeing them waiting in the doorway, bringing them to the attention of the entire room. "Is everything all right ? We felt Isley's Youki flaring wildly, but as you instructed remained here. What happened?"
Miria and Clare exchanged long looks before shrugging together and fully entering the room, taking the two empty seats near the fire to warm and dry themselves.
"I'm not entirely sure, but Isley was in a very strange mood. He was obliterating buildings in Pieta, roaring in rage, then all of a sudden he was in human form, kneeling on the ground, and crying." Miria replied slowly, and the warriors stirred in confusion. Veronica voiced what they were all thinking.
"Isley, hell, any Awakened Being crying? Is it even possible? I thought all human emotions died when you became Awakened?" she said, confusion filling her voice, and Miria and Clare exchanged looks before Clare nodded to their Captain.
"That...is not entirely true. From what I understand, when you Awaken, the emotions that you had as a warrior become even stronger. However, most are like Isley and simply do not believe that we "lesser beings" are worth any emotion other than contempt and dismissal if they even deign to acknowledge our existence." Miria said, not mentioning that she, Clare, Helen, and Deneve could be qualified as pseudo-Awakened Beings .
The warriors murmured to each other some more, and several offered theories as to the cause of the Abyssal's strange attitude. None, however, struck them as entirely feasible, and they grew more abstract until Veronica brought them all to a halt.
"This speculation is getting us nowhere. We should all get some sleep and worry about Isley whenever we sense him nearby again." she said calmly, before looking over at Clare and Miria. "At the very least, were our fallen comrades graves not disturbed?"
Every warrior in the room focused on the duo at that question, and all made soft noises of relief and satisfaction when Clare shook her head. None of them wanted to consider the possibility of their lost friends' graves being desecrated. Slayers are a practical group, that's true, and do not put the reverence into a body that humans tend to. A warriors grave, however, is a representation of the warrior's soul, and a testament to their final battle. For the grave to be destroyed was to erase that warrior and her deeds from history.
The Ghosts would not allow their comrades to be forever forgotten by the world.
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"Well, this is a presence that I do not recognize, but the power flowing through you tells me all I need to know about you. Come to finish me, as Rafaela didn't, Executioner?" a young woman with silver eyes and long blond hair asked, back to Raki as he stood in the doorway of her hut, her armless torso framed against the sun.
It had taken Raki two days to reach Irene's small cabin near the city of Terkan, and it appeared Irene knew exactly who he was. Or, rather, who the world thought he was.
"Not in the least, former number two of the Organization, Irene of the Quicksword. In fact, I need your help." Raki replied calmly, fully entering the building and shutting the door. He could feel Irene's surprise tinge her aura, and she turned to face him slowly, raising an elegant eyebrow at him.
"And what, pray tell, could such a powerful being need with a cripple like me?" she asked slowly, to which he gave a crooked half smile, and Irene swore she felt herself blush faintly.
"I plan on destroying the Organization and its Youma creation labs. To do so, I will need your help, amongst others. Several other former warriors have already pledged their support to me, and I am begging you to help me end the Organization's tyranny over this island." he replied bluntly, and Irene blinked at him in surprise.
"You...want to destroy the Organization?" she asked him incredulously, and he nodded. Shaking her head, Irene turned away. "You're insane. The Organization is too powerful. No matter how strong you are a warrior, you cannot defeat them."
"I disagree. The Abyssal of the North will help me. The new ruler of the South has already pledged herself and her soldiers to me, as have nearly a dozen rogue or former warriors, many single digits, including one you might remember. Elda, the number 5 of your generation."
"Elda is alive?" Irene breathed in shock. She had presumed that her former friend and comrade had died years ago, as she had vanished without a trace. It appeared that was not true, however.
"Yes, she is indeed, and she would like to see you again. I also have a powerful friend waiting that can help you re-grow your arms." Raki confirmed with a nod, and Irene's head whipped around so fast Raki swore he heard it crack as her wide and hopeful eyes fell upon his own bright silver.
"Can she truly?" she asked softly, as if afraid that speaking loudly would make it a lie, and Raki nodded with a warm smile.
"Yes, her name is Nimue, a former number two from many generations ago. She won't tell me which, for some reason. She keeps saying something about being rude and a woman's age." Raki replied, shrugging sheepishly while scratching the back of his head with his right hand. Irene snorted lightly in amusement, shaking her head, before smiling and nodding.
"Yes, I'll help you. I hate the Organization for what it has done to my fellow warriors and I over the years. I only ask that you help me ensure that the little orphan twins that have been caring for me are taken care of." she said, and Raki nodded in acceptance before opening the door. There stood a trio of cloaked figures, and Irene's eyes widened with alarm, but Raki merely continued to smile.
"She has agreed to help us. Come in and introduce yourselves to our new comrade." he said, and the trio filed into the hut before doffing their cloaks, revealing the trio to be young women, all warriors.
"Pleasure to meet you, Irene. Elda has told me a lot about you. My name is Kiara, the number two of Riful's generation. I am a defensive type." the first said. Her silvery-blonde hair hung down to mid back loosely, with long bangs framing her face. Irene nodded, hiding her surprise. This warrior was long presumed dead, killed by Riful for not joining her in the West.
"I remember you, and I hope you remember me, Irene." the second said with a small smile, a smile that Irene returned with a nod as her gaze shifted to the third, eyes brightening as she guessed who it was. The warrior noted her regard and giggled lightly.
"My name is Nimue, as you've guessed, and I was the number two of Chloe's generation. I'm a Healer-type, and I'm going to get you your arms back." she said with a smile, and Irene could honestly say that she was one of the most beautiful females, human or warrior alike, that she had ever seen. Long, pure silver hair cascaded in subtle waves down her back to her lower back, and one eye was hidden behind a curtain of hair, giving her a cute, almost teenaged appearance that offset the grace and power that bled out of her aura.
"Chloe? I don't remember that name..." Irene said with a frown, sidetracked temporarily, and Nimue nodded.
"Yes, we were the 12th generation of warriors. Chloe was our number 1, and so, as with most generations, we who remember her refer to that generation as Chloe's." she said with a bright smile, and Irene nodded slowly, hiding her shock as much as she could. She knew that many warriors from previous generations still wandered the world as Awakened Beings, but the twelfth generation was old, far older than she had thought possible, and she knew that many of the older generations had been far more powerful than the newer ones, though also more volatile. "Anyway, let's see about those arms, shall we?"
"I don't know if you can bring back my right arm. I gave it to another warrior, who had lost hers in a fight with a former single digit by the name of Ophelia, and..." Irene started, but before she could continue Raki was before her, hands on her shoulders.
"What did you say the warrior's name was?" he asked fiercely, and Irene stared at him, shocked speechless. Growing impatient, Raki gripped her shirt and lifted her into the air, a hurricane of Youki swirling about him as his eyes cycled between silver, gold, and brown. "A NAME! GIVE ME A NAME!"
"The Awakened Being was Ophelia, and the warrior was named Clare. Please, put me down!" Irene cried, feeling true fear for the first time since she fell to Priscilla all those years ago. Raki dropped her, and spun quickly, stalking outside. Nimue hastened to Irene's side and helped her back to her feet even as whoops and yells could be heard outside. Looking at Nimue, Irene spoke.
"Umm, can someone tell me what the hell just happened?" she asked, confused and angry, though she was still shivering in mingled terror and awe at the memory of Raki's aura.
"Clare and Raki are old friends. He has been searching for her for nearly six years now. Ophelia found them, and they fought each other. Clare stayed behind to hold Ophelia while Raki ran, as Ophelia wanted Raki's blood for some reason. That's why he reacted so strongly to Ophelia's name." Kiara replied, and Irene's eyes widened at the young man's name.
"That is Raki? The way Clare described him, he was a kind and gentle human with a love for cooking, not the most powerful male I have ever seen, not to mention the only male I've seen that wasn't either human or Awakened."
The trio before her exchanged loaded looks before Nimue turned back to Irene, a smile back on her face.
"Not to worry, despite Clare possessing your arm, I can help you regenerate both. As far as your body is concerned, it is no different than an arm lost in battle. The arm may still exist, but it is not attached to you, and therefore you can regenerate a new one." she explained, and Irene's eyes gleamed with repressed joy. Nimue glanced back at the door and raised her voice. "RAKI! STOP ACTING LIKE A COMPLEATE FOOL AND GET YOUR TONED ASS IN HERE!"
Irene stared as a sheepish looking Raki appeared back in the room instantly, a faint blush staining his cheeks.
"Sorry Nimue. I take it that you need me to boost your power for this one?" he said determinedly. Nimue rolled her eyes at him before nodding.
"Yes, it will take an enormous amount of power to bring her arms back. I will control and focus the power, but I need you to supply it." she responded, and it was Raki's turn to nod as his Youki began to pulse and flare. Placing his hands on Nimue's shoulders, he began to channel it into her, and Irene swore that she heard the other warrior moan lustfully. "Hmmm, I love that feeling. Now, Irene, hold still. This might hurt." she sighed happily, before focusing on the once again blushing Irene, her own aura flaring as her own power and Raki's twined together and began to flow into Irene. She twitched slightly at the strange feeling of another's power coursing through her, and then the pain began.
Irene shrieked in pain, howled in agony, writhed in torment, as injuries inflicted many years ago suddenly tried to heal themselves. The flesh stubs, just below her shoulders, began to bulge and ripple grotesquely. With a horrid squelching sound, white bone pierced their way through the stumps, extending and forming themselves into the upper arm, the elbow, and the lower arm. Then came the wrist and hands, fingers followed after. Muscles and veins grew rapidly, covering the bone quickly, and the veins began to pulse as her heart began to pound blood through them. Then came the skin. Flawless, creamy and smooth skin flashing down the arms. Encasing them, embracing them. Protecting them.
Then, finally, the pain ended, leaving Irene sweating and gasping to collapse to her knees, hugging her arms to herself instinctively. After a long moment, she finally realized what she was doing, and unwrapped them, holding her hands up before her face, turning them slowly as she stared at them in wonder and awe. In an instant, so was on her feet and wrapping her arms around both Raki and Nimue, tears running down her cheeks as she laughed in pure, unadulterated joy. Both held her until she had calmed down somewhat, and then Elda came forward, withdrawing a claymore from beneath her cloak, and Irene gasped.
It was hers.
"How did you find this?" she breathed, taking the weapon and relishing in the sensation of gripping it once more. She hefted it, remembering its feel and weight as she took a few practice swings and cuts, reveling in the sensation of using muscles she long thought lost forever.
"Rafaela made a report, as required, to the Organization of your old home in the mountains. When Elda joined me, I gave her the location and sent her to retrieve it for you." Raki told her, enjoying her enjoyment. Irene looked over at him sharply, surprised that he had planned this far ahead.
"You knew that I would join you?" she asked sharply, and he shrugged a little lazily.
"It was a reasonable assumption. Either you would join for the chance to end the Organization, or in return for getting your arms back. Either way, we both won. I'm glad you agreed for the first option as opposed to the second, however." he told her simply, and she nodded slowly. He had made a gambit, and it had paid off. She didn't know whether to be angry or flattered. He shrugged again, and sent a look to Nimue, who nodded with a smile before she and Kiara gave him kisses on the cheek.
"Go on, get going. You two need to get back before the Organization figures out that you're not, in fact, scouting Saoirse's base out. We three will worry about Irene here, and introducing her to the others." Kiara said afterwards, and Raki nodded with a faint blush before glancing at Irene, giving another warm smile, and vanishing out the door rapidly.
"What was that all about?" Irene asked slowly, and Kiara and Nimue both giggled while Elda rolled her eyes in amused exasperation.
"These two are in love with Raki, and can never resist giving him not-so-subtle hints and tells that they want him." she explained, her tone one of amusement. She shook her head. "He's handsome and all, but defiantly not my type."
"That's because no man is your type, Elda." Nimue commented dryly, to which Elda shrugged, and Nimue sighed before continuing. "If only Raki wasn't so damn oblivious, he might realize that with a few words he could-and would- have a massive harem of willing, able, and loyal women to do whatever he asked them too. I mean, I remember my mom telling me that men are dense, but honestly!"
"I jsut hope Clare is willing to share." Kiara grumbled, making Nimue nod in agreement before they turned to Irene. "Now, Raki has instructed us to tell you everything you need to know, so let's get started. First, our Headquarters is..."
And so began Irene of the Quicksword's initiation into what would eventually be called the Liberation faction by those who were loyal to it, and the Claymore Rebellion by its enemies.
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"Are you ready to go, Master?" a voice from the trees garnered Raki's attention as he moved out of hearing range of the hut, and he sighed loudly, frowning at one in particular.
"I am not your master, Dietrich. I am your friend." he said forbiddingly, and the rather short form of his Organization-assigned "watcher", Number 8, called "Tracker Dietrich" dropped from the tree to land softly before him, silver eyes determined.
"I disagree, Master. I was broken when I discovered the Organization's deceit, but you put me back together again. You are our leader, the most powerful of us all. Does that not make you our master?"
"Dietrich..." Raki groaned, as always unable to convince her that he was nothing more than a fellow victim of the Organization. Granted, she was the first current member of the Organization to join his cause, and he had waited nearly three months after his turning to approach her on a mission, showing her files that condemned the Organization, revealing their true intentions. She had been an inconsolable wreck for three days before Raki had managed to convince her that there was nothing she could have done even if she did know, but she could do something now, and that was join him in his quest to destroy the Organization. She had agreed whole-heartedly and been his most loyal follower since. She even managed to get herself assigned as his permanent watcher by the Organization, citing her excellent long-range tracking skills and their benefits in watching Raki's movements. Shaking his head, he turned North and started moving at a faster than human pace, Dietrich easily keeping pace with him, just behind his right shoulder, and he shook his head again with a slight chuckle at the gleam in her eyes. Smiling at her, he continued. "So, we just scouted about for five days, and found no direct location, right?"
"Of course, Master. The South is such a big territory after all." Dietrich smirked back at him, and both laughed as they raced towards Staff. So far, everything was going precisely as planned.
So far.
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There you go! The newest Chapter for Silver Eyed Angel, clocking in at - words! Now, I still have no beta, so if you notice any flaws please let me know~! Also, if you guys want to see before the nine month time skip, I can do flashbacks, but I want to keep the plot rolling, not waste time with transformations and such. Make sure to let me know!
Shadows of Vanity
