You can all thank Dany le fou for this story actually getting finished, what with all of the…encouragement he bestowed upon me via PM. Its hard to go back and write for my old stuff, what with how much my writing style has changed over the years. And my interests, admittedly. I still like Claymore, but its not a front and center thing anymore, really. So, here it is. The final plot chapter of Silver Eyed Angel. An epilogue will follow that will just be pure smut. There will not be an official sequel from me, not anymore. Just can't do it :/
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Silver Eyed Angel
The Final Chapter
A Clash of Titans
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Every being on that battlefield raised their hands to shield their eyes as a new sun blazed before them, a pure golden light that filled all those who could be called 'good' with hope and strength anew, while those that were 'evil' shivered in dread, the instinctive realization that a being uncomprehendingly beyond them had just Awoken.
"So, this is your true power." Theresa murmured as she beheld the Awakened form of her opponent. "Magnificent…"
"Thank you. It was the barest hint of this form that earned me my Title, that earned me the epithet of Silver-Eyed Angel." Raki responded from there he floated in the air. His new form was indeed magnificent, and as nude as Theresa, confirming to everyone in view range that he was as well-endowed as most of them had fantasized. Six golden wings, each several yards in length, were spread out and shining around him, and an aura of pure youki wrapped around his hands would doubtless serve as his weapon. He had to be the least-monstrous Awakened that had ever existed, at least when it came to appearance, Theresa decided. "I can only hope that Clare is as appreciative as you."
"…tch." Theresa scoffed in irritation at the reminder that Clare was apparently enamored with this boy, along with who-knew-how-many others of their kind. It was really pissing her off to know that this brat had her little Clare panting after him, along with Goddess knew how many others. "You're really trying to piss me off, aren't you? I mean, deliberately bringing up Clare is sure to get my blood boiling."
She blitzed towards him, crossing the space between them with such speed that she probably could have crossed the whole of Tolouse within minutes, a movement literally incomprehensible to all but Raki, who reacted just as quickly as she had attacked. It was no mean feat, countering her charge, but he was certainly capable of it. A shockwave emanated forth from where their hands met, his calm cupping the driving fist of her strike, one wing arcing around to block the attack that followed from one of her scythe-tipped tails.
"What angers you or doesn't is hardly my concern. Creating a world where Clare and I, and our siblings, can live in peace is all that matters. The sooner you stand down and allow me to purge the Organization, the sooner that world will arrive." He retorted, forcing her to retreat as he let loose a series of offensive blasts of youki, cratering the ground as she darted away with a lazy smirk. "Regardless of whether you stand or kneel, I'll not allow you to prevent it from coming. I would rather Clare not find you destroyed when she arrives."
Theresa merely tsked in annoyance, using her own wings and youki to send nigh-invisible blades of wind sweeping towards him, and it was his turn to evade by taking to the sky. She pursued and the pair rose to altitudes that no mortal had ever reached before, reducing those still on the ground to mere specks even to their almighty eyes. The air twisted around them, warped by their power, and storm clouds began to gather ominously.
"Peace, safety, a cherished family." She scoffed contemptuously, flicking long fingers in a dismissive gesture of banishment at the very idea. The halflings were a race of warriors created for a singular purpose. Without the youma, without a war to fight, they would grow listless, aimless. They had been bred for battle, not for farming and fishing and the other mundane, mindless chores of the humans around them, and she told him as much. "Even now you feel this to be true, no? The call to battle, the lust for blood…I can see it within you."
This was not, as it happened, metaphorical or in reference to something in his aura that she could detect. Rather, he was sporting an impressive erection, and he frowned at her in irritation. She made it sound like he got off on hurting people which was…mildly accurate, in truth, but not in the way she meant it. He dominated his lovers, meshed pain and pleasure into a cohesive whole, but suffering for the sake of it had no appeal to him.
"My lust has little to do with blood and everything to do with your current attire." He rebuked her sternly, admonishing her with word and gaze, and she snorted again, actually preening somewhat. Arrogance, it seemed, was truly the realm of the powerful. Oddly enough, he absently noted, but by and large the power a halfling possessed seemed to affect their bust size. Oh there were outliers, of course, such as Priscilla and Octavia, but both of them had often chosen to have their forms be those of children that did not reflect their true ages. Perhaps some psychological craving to regain their stolen childhoods, who could tell? "Do you really intend to fight still, even knowing that Claire will doubtless be making her way here? Do you intend her first sight of you after so many years to be that of us doing battle?"
"You talk to much! You want her to see us at peace? Force me to my knees and see if you can keep me there! Now, stop prattling!" Theresa hissed, tired of his talking and charging again. It was infuriating, how he would simply float there casting words at her, as if they would change what was, is, and would be simply by being spoken.
Time and again they clashed, and it was well that they were so far from the ground now, for their blows would have reshaped the world around them. Raki's comrades likely would have been injured or slain, and the men of the Organization slain outright rather than being taken alive and in chains to Rabona. With their departure, the treacherous Youma and their Awakened leader were emboldened and pressed harder against the loyalists, yet under the guiding hands of Raki's lieutenants the line was held.
"You were foolish to betray the lord master, Europa. You and the youma would have lived easy lives, un-hunted by my master and our sisters for the rest of your existences. Instead, you will all die on this field." Dietrich informed the former single digit coldly as she and Octavia stood before the fallen number two's Awakened form.
"Perhaps you would have even lived to walk from this field, had he remained, for the Master is a truly deep well of forgiveness. With him so far from us, however, there will be no mercy. No stays of execution or provisions of mercy at the final moment." Octavia added from where her centaur-like body stood, pawing at the ground as she glared hatefully at her form acquaintance. "I must say, I will enjoy this more than I ought. I always found you to be contemptibly arrogant and lazy. I honestly hadn't thought you would possess the courage to take to the field yourself."
"I'll enjoy ripping your tongue out of your mouth, whore. I always hated that mouth of yours, always bearing a criticism or some pithy comment." Europa sneered back, bladed tentacles writhing in agitation as she looked down at them. "You and your fellows fell all over yourselves to spread your legs for that pathetic male. He is little more than a human with a taste of power, weak of mind. He could have consumed whatever he desired, but instead makes himself a hero to the masses of our natural prey. He is weak!"
"I think that I shall have to make you suffer for this insult to the Master before we kill you." Dietrich said coolly, and for the first time she allowed her power to flow unrestrained. Through the influence of her Master, she Awakened with full control of her mind. When the flare of her youki faded, there she stood in her new form, an armored wolf-woman hybrid of towering stature. She took in her new appearance appreciatively, flexing long serrated claws sprouting from her hand-paws with interest "Hmm. It seemed my nickname of 'The Hunter' is more accurate than I could have ever foreseen. I wonder how sharp these claws will prove themselves as I ripe that disgusting face of yours right off."
Their own clash began without further words, its outcome long since decided. Against a single Awakened of her own strength in the form of Octavia, perhaps Europa could have achieved Victoria. Against two, even if the second wasn't a 'top three' single digit…well, a conclusion foregone indeed. Her erstwhile minions stood even less of a chance, as many of the loyalists chose to follow The Hands into Awakening. Normal youma were no match for them, despite their far greater numbers.
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The cascading pulses of youki continued to emanate from the south-east, from towards the Headquarters of the Organization, surrounded and penetrated The Ghosts of Rabona as they race towards the battle that was doubtless taking place. The rest of Raki's allies and servants had remained behind in Rabona, hunting down any surviving traitors and securing the city. Doubtless there would be hunter-killer parties dispatched soon enough to cleanse the island, but that was for the future. For now, their only concern was reaching their Mate and helping him against whomever and whatever he was battling.
"This other youki feels kinda like your own, Clare. Not wholly a copy, but a trace of this is in your own signature." Helen commented as they ran, sounding intrigued and somewhat concerned at the same time. "Any ideas?"
"Yes, and that's what worries me. I was made using the flesh of Theresa of the Faint Smile, so part of her signature is buried within my own." Clare replied shortly, and the group nearly fell over from shock at that revelation. If that was true, then the person who had to be battling Raki right now was the most powerful Claymore in history, the Number One of the Number Ones. Though loyal to Raki and wanting to be at his side, the idea of getting between two such titans as they clashed was understandably worrisome. None of them wanted to die now, not when they were so close to freedom and to getting their Mate, and certainly not in so ignoble a way as getting caught in the proverbial crossfire. "It doesn't matter who he is facing or why, our place is at his side. "
It would not occur to them until after everything was over that they were moving faster and longer than they ought to be able too, so caught up were they in their efforts. When they arrived, it was to see surviving youma being lined up and executed steadily by their fellow halflings, with two massive winged Awakened doing their best to bludgeon one another to death a good distance away.
"Hold there! Stay where you are!" a sharp voice barked as they drew closer, a pair of naked halflings appearing before them with stern looks and sharp eyes. Ignoring the screaming and swearing of the youma being butchered behind them, they flared their youki in a threatening enough manner to enforce their commands. "Name and number yourselves, sisters, and approach no nearer to the battlefield until your loyalties are determined."
"I am Miria, 6 of the last generation. With me are my companions and friends: Clare, Cynthia, Helen, Deneve, Tabitha, Veronica, Lily, and Zelda. We were sent to Pieta to be purged some years ago, and we've returned to help destroy the Organization. We've actually just come directly from Rabona, where we helped discover and repel a traitorous youma attacked like the one you've just crushed." Miria answered calmly, gentle hand on Clare's arm keep her from reacting with anger to anyone getting between her and Raki after so long apart.
Two pairs of eyes widened slightly before narrowing just as quickly, power coiling in their auras as those within ear shot not occupied with executions or rounding up traitors drew weapons and began to approach, fanning out into a loose formation.
"I am Dietrich, Hand of The Master, and your claim will be tested when He has finished his battle with The Faint Smile. Should it prove false, I doubt you will live long enough to beg for mercy. Until then, you will submit yourself into our custody and disarm." One ordered, the other nodding in agreement, and the Ghosts tensed as their hands went to the hilts of their own weapons. The situation was rapidly approaching boiling point when a powerful signature flared behind the loyalist forces.
"Irene!" Clare gasped, shocked to see that her mentor (and arm-transplant donor) was not only still alive but now in possession of both her arms once more.
"Good to see you again, little blade." The Quicksword smiled warmly at her student, before looking around at the rest, nodding to each in turn. "Dietrich, Octavia, they are who they say they are. Clare was a personal student of mine and I know of the others."
"Understood." Octavia, for that must be the second of the two women, nodded her acquiescence. Tilting her head to the side, she smiled slyly at Clare as she continued. "You know, for the one Chosen by The Master to be the First of us, I had expected someone a bit…taller. Perhaps a bit bustier as well."
Clare bristled at the slight, though it was minor given the other woman's acknowledgment of what she had always hoped: that Raki wanted her more than anyone else. It was a reassurance she had never really admitted to herself that she actually needed, but now that she had it she couldn't ignore the immense relief it gave. She was curious, though, who the two before her were. Oh, she had their names, but what did being a 'Hand' mean? They were clearly high-ranking in Raki's forces, but just how high? Even Irene had not commanded them, but rather advised them that The Ghosts were being truthful. Ergo, they were ranked higher than an extremely powerful former Number Two. If she were to take a guess based only on their apparent titles, they were higher ranking than anyone but Raki (and herself, she hoped), given the implications of being his Left and Right Hands.
"So, the Organization really resurrected fallen Number Ones like Theresa…to think that their depravity reaches beyond the grave itself to dishonor the fallen. And they call us monsters." Veronica spat on the ground in disgust, one mirrored by those around her, and she eyed the rounded-up youma. "Seeing his power before me, I am surprised that any youma was foolish enough to betray our Mate, never mind so many."
"As near as we can tell, all youma betrayed us. The Awakened named Europa claimed that she could lead them to overwhelm us with numbers while the resurrected single digits and Raki battled, then finish off the weakened survivors. She might have even been right, but half of the resurrected defected or refused to fight immediately, and we dealt with the others before the youma attacked. Raki sent us to deal with them before engaging Theresa personally. The rest is as you see before you." Dietrich responded as the youma executions resumed. There was really something surreal about the casual conversations and executions taking place besides (if at a distance) a battle that could level mountains. It was absurd, really, but somehow it didn't seem entirely out of place. With the likes of youma, halflings, and Awakened roaming the world for so long, most were used to strange things.
"Oh my, the fight seems to be taking a somewhat different direction. Perhaps you should intervene soon, Clare, before Theresa jumps the line." Cynthia said with a faint blush, and the group looked to see a very different kind of grappling beginning as more bestial instincts began to overwhelm the clashing single digits. Growling under her breath, the former 47 stalked towards the duo with narrowed eyes, much to the amusement of her sisters.
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It was perhaps the most bizzare, amusing, and baffling thing that the Loyalists had ever seen when they witnessed Clare giving the two most powerful beings to ever walk the Earth a dressing down for the ages. One of the most dimunitive halflings ever created, yelling at the top of her lungs (both from anger and just so they could actually hear her) at two fifteen-odd feet Awakened, who were just as amusing in their reactions. The watchers would later swear to the Twin Goddesses that The Faint Smile was pouting, while the Silver-Eyed Angel looked rather contrite. That part of marriage, at least, he seemed to have learned rather quickly.
Things were mopped up quickly, with the humans of the Organization being dragged out of their rocky hiding places in chains (bandits included), ready to be taken to Rabona for an admittedly superfluous series of trials and well-deserved executions. With their own papers and records condemning them, it was truly a foregone conclusion as to how their lives would end. They also found a note from Rubel, explaining that he was an agent from the nation fighting against the nation that directed The Organization, reassuring them that he would convey to his superiors that Tolousse was not a threat and was to be left alone, so long as its people stayed out of the war. That suited Raki and his people just fine, as they had no interest in involving themselves in a world-spanning war between to factions that they knew nothing about. As long as their home and their people were left unmolested, they were happy with where they were and what they had.
Things moved swiftly, teams of halflings (now Awakened, protected from madness as they were) cleansed the entire island of youma and unaligned Awakened threats. Similarly, Rabona and the other major cities deployed their guard forces to hunt down and purge the Organization-created bandit groups, easily located thanks to the Organization's impeccable book-keeping. They had obviously never considered the idea that someone would penetrate their base and find such information. Arrogant, but not entirely illogical given the fearful respect the Organization had been treated to by the inhabitants of the island. In order to prevent a month straight of mass executions, the order was given for the bandits to be slain and burned where they camped, and great funeral pyres blazed in the night all across the island three days and nights.
Raki and his family, having completed their duty to defend the people from enemies only they could fight, retreated to his fortress-keep headquarters. There had been calls for Raki to rule the island entirely from both halflings and humans, but he had no interest in administrating for the rest of his life, not when he had so many beautiful companions to spend his time with instead. What better way to live out your days than this, surrounded by inhumanly capable and beautiful woman who thought pleasing you was the most enjoyable thing they could do on any given day?
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That's it, the last of the plot chapters. Its taken forever and a day, but its done. Smut should be up this weekend, since smut is easier to write for a 99% dead story then plot is. Which arguably could be taken as a very sad statement indeed, but true none the less.
