A/N: Hey everyone, I got this done faster than I expected. Thank you everyone again for reading my story so far and I hope I can continue doing my best and raising the bar with every chapter, I know that is a tall order but I'm going to give it my best shot. I have some really BIG events that will be taking place hopefully in the next chapter or two, some people will hate it and others may love what I'm going to do with the story pretty soon. Oh and special thanks to Ann E. Casap for looking over this.
Progressive Sickness
Time is against everyone, it is an ally to no one and shows no prejudice to all who fall under its limits. Living or man-made makes no difference to time, it will destroy all. Such is the case for the fort established at the foothills of the northern mountain range. Time had taken its toll on it, nature had broken down all of its once mighty walls and destroyed its impenetrable gates. All that remained was a shell of its former glory. Once occupied by mighty soldiers and the bravest of leaders, it is now home to nature.
"Do you feel that Dauf?" The petite voice echoed throughout the empty halls of the long abandoned fort.
"Feel what?" The large ogre asked nearly absent of individual thought.
"Someone very powerful just woke up from their slumber…" Riful stated as she causally skipped to the nearest window overlooking the wilderness below. "You see that light Dauf? It means someone wants to play games with us."
Raki's pupil's dilated back to a normal diameter for the surrounding daylight as the towering beacon of light over Rabona vanished. All three of them stood in the road in complete silence and awe. Raki's eyes cut over to Ermita's to see his reaction but to his surprise he seemed unmoved by the event as he continued to stare at landscape before him. With a slight turn of his head Raki looked over to Raftela who was solely focused on Ermita.
Ermita finally broke the silence as he turned to address Raftela churning the dirt underneath his boot as he did. "This changes things, we are heading to Rabona immediately, I'm sure the organization will understand." Raftela nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'm going as well, I don't need to travel with if you disagree, but I know that Clare is somehow involved with whatever is going on in Rabona." Raki stated sternly as he turned to gather his gear.
"What makes you so sure that it is Clare? I haven't heard of any surviving the battle in Pieta. How do you know she survived?" Ermita asked genuinely.
"I was there seven years ago, I was traveling nearby when the violence broke out." Raki paused as he felt uncomfortable sharing and rehashing all those memories. "Clare and I have a unique history and I care deeply for her. I knew seven years ago that she was Pieta during that battle, and seven years ago I saw that same light emit from the city." Raki stopped packing his belongings as a bead of bloody sweat fell from his brow. "When I witnessed that power something inside me knew it was Clare. I remember that feeling, it was a terrible feeling, and now as we stood here watching that light it was…it was the same."
"I have no doubt of your conviction, but as you have said it has been so long and she would have made contact with any one of us within the organization long ago if she survived." Ermita explained.
"You are not the first to think so, and you will not be the last to think I am on a fool's errand." Raki shot back with hate.
"I am sorry." Ermita apologized lowering his gaze. "I do not wish to sow seeds of doubt within you. We all must hold onto hope." Raftela looked over to Ermita as if to usher their moving along. It was true, any time they spent standing about was time lost.
Ermita let out a cloak-muffled chuckle as he thought about it. "Why don't you do just that?" Raki tilted his head unsure of the subject. "Yes. Please accompany us to Rabona, I would like to know about you and Clare. I remember her, I wasn't directly involved with her training, that is to say I only knew of her."
"Alright! Let's go!" A small glow of joy emitted from Raki's face as he stood ready to move.
"Perhaps you would like to wash up or at least change your attire before we set out?" Ermita stated as delicately as he could, once again looking at his bloodied clothes.
"We don't have time to waste, I will change once we have closed our gap with Rabona." Raki gestured as he already began his march down the highway leaving the other two in tow.
"Very well," Ermita conceded as he caught up to Raki. "But I insist you walk downwind of me, you smell of the dead." Out of embarrassment Raki slowly slid behind Ermita grabbing the collar of his shirt just to be sure. Ermita was right, blood and brains have a very unique and uncomfortable odor.
A light and refreshing breeze dipped and wove its way around the many buildings of Rabona, lifting everyone's sprit as they all banded together searching and repairing their broken city. It swung low kicking dust to the heavens with its passing. It veered right and left hugging any tight corners as it made its way through the city. It flew by the many arches of the cathedral speeding up as it twisted and turned finally arriving at another open window. Its great speed plummeted as it met and made the drapes dance from its wake.
"What exactly happened?" Helen asked as she stood by the window, her hair swaying to and fro from the breeze.
"She lost control." Deneve stated plainly.
"I can see that," Helen shot back quickly. "But why did this happen. I mean we have spent the last seven years mastering control over ourselves and our yoki. How could she just lose it, and why?" Helen's voice continued to elevate as she raged.
"I don't know," Deneve said softly as she knelt down next to Clare's unconscious body. "We need to let her rest, perhaps yesterday's battle took more toll on her than we thought." Deneve carefully placed her hand above Clare's breast, feeling the steady rhythm of heart move up and down with every breath.
Satisfied that she was docile again Deneve looked across the room at the other claymore lying in the bed, also unconscious. She had been injured worse before, but not by a friend. Yuma's torso was wrapped in bandages and next to her bed was a basket full of bloody rags ready to be washed and reused. Her breathing was shallow as her body was slowly closing the puncture wound in her side that drilled all the way to her lungs.
"How about Yuma?" Deneve asked as she stood to her feet.
"Physically, she will be able to recover by the end of the day, but did you hear some of the shit she was saying after Clare finally collapsed?" Helen asked pointedly.
"Yes, I don't know what to make of it…. I have never seen her so freighted before." Deneve's eyes began to well ever so slightly before she shut them completely, stemming their flow. "Yuma is always doubting herself, but today she did it right." Deneve glanced at Helen before looking back at Yuma's resting body with pride.
Miria and Tabitha quietly entered the infirmary leaning against the door frame watching their two sisters slowly recover. Deneve carefully sheathed her blade trying not to wake either of them up. "I don't think that will be necessary anymore." Miria stated as Deneve nodded in agreement. It was hard to raise your blade to your sister with the intent to kill, but Clare was becoming dangerous and as much as Deneve was reluctant to guard Clare from herself she had the strongest resolve to do what would be necessary if it ever came to that.
"Any ideas Miria?" Helen asked forwardly.
Miria regretfully shrugged her shoulders as she let out a deep sigh. "I don't have anything either, I thought she had this side of her under control." Miria walked over to Clare's resting body looking at her peaceful face, watching her carefully. "Something made her lose control, Helen did she mention anything to you. I heard her wake you up yesterday morning, she seemed afraid."
"I dunno," Helen gritted her teeth as she tried to recall anything before Clare went berserk. "She said she had a terrible nightmare….didn't mention about what though."
Helen was about to go on another speculation of the reason why Clare went insane, but before she could get the thought to fully form all her sweat glands went into overdrive. The piercing high pitch scream of Yuma's voice sheared across the room snapping everyone's head towards her direction.
"Yuma!" Helen raced over to her panicked friend trying to calm her as she continued to scream out in unfiltered fear. "Yuma it's okay I'm here." Helen tried to reassure her. Yuma back pedaled with her hands and feet until her back pressed tightly against the bed frame. Her screaming had stopped as her mouth was completely dry. Her eyes shot left and right to Miria then to Clare and back to Miria again. She was terrified as her lips quivered and her entire frame shook, rattling the bed as fear continued to grip her soul.
Deneve grabbed one of Yuma's flailing arms but was shocked to notice that she was not batting them away, she was not trying to distance herself from them like some sort of crazy deranged person. She was throwing her arms left and right trying to grab onto one of them. She was searching for someone to save her, to shelter her from what could've only been Clare. Yuma quickly snatched Deneve's arm pulling her onto the bed beside her and gripping Deneve's clothes tightly.
"Yuma calm down!" Deneve ordered as Yuma continued to shake and cower. Her eyes were locked on Clare. Cynthia jumped on the bed placing herself right in front of Yuma's vision blocking out Clare. Her hands gently stroked Yuma's head as she embraced her tightly desperately trying to calm her.
"I saw them….I saw them….I….saw…." Yuma repeated rhythmically as she bobbed back and forth still shaking from fear. Mria's eyebrows shot up as Yuma's words sounded very familiar.
"Who did you see?" Miria asked sternly as she rushed over, pushing Cynthia aside. Miria tried to follow Yuma's eyes as their gaze raced all around the room. "Who did you see!?" Miria raised her voice as she grabbed hold of Yuma demanding an answer from her frightened sister.
"I…..saw…" Yuma swallowed hard as she continued to tremble. "I saw….three….I saw three." She nodded her head over and over again hoping the terror would stop if she simply gave up everything she knew. Tears began to flow down her face and her mouth opened wide but no cries escaped her lips as she continued to be consumed by fear.
"Who? Which three? Three what?" Miria continued to press harder with her questions as she tightly squeezed Yuma's right arm. "Tell me Yuma! What did you see!?" The sheets grew darker between Yuma's legs as Miria continued to hound her for answers. "Who did you see!?" Miria was now yelling as a rage began to overtake her body. Helen was becoming concerned as she witnessed Miria's anger, it was as if she was treating Yuma as some sort of enemy, interrogating her. "DAMN IT YUMA TELL ME!" Miria screamed, her right hand shot back and gripped the hilt of her claymore, ready to strike.
"Miria!" Helen yelled as she tried to arrest Miria's forceful grip on Yuma. "She doesn't need this right now!" The anger slowly began to fade away from Miria's face as she realized the torment she was causing. She slowly let her go feeling terrible of her actions. Yuma's eyes closed as silence enveloped the room, all of them silently taking in all that had transpired.
"I….saw…Teresa….." Yuma finally gathered the strength to utter the words. "…and a little…..brown haired girl…" Yuma paused as her lips began to quiver again. "And then…I saw her….she….she was….awake…." Everyone slowly turned around to see Clare still lying unconscious. They were all silent just staring at her as if she was some predator.
Clare watched the snow dance and fall to the ground in Pieta. She was always mystified by its presence. It just seemed to make the entire world so much more serene. It was as if all the noise in the world ceased and she could just stand there and enjoy the silence. But as she traced the snowflakes fall she could see them gently land on the broken rooftops and destroyed buildings of the northern city.
It was here that she remembered when her life had made another change. This was the beginning and the end of a life she both loved and hated. Clare loved all of her sisters, each and every one of them, but she hated what they and she herself had become. On those days when the fighting had just begun, Clare remembered thinking of what she and this battle really were about. It was not good versus evil, or light against the darkness. It was, and has always been a genocidal civil war. There were no sides to the fighting, they were fighting their own, themselves, more than not. Each kill or victory did save human lives, but each kill was causality on their side which they had no part in choosing.
A giant crash halted Clare's thoughts. Debris and clouds of dust shot up into the sky with each impact. Clare craned her neck around one of the many abandoned street corners of the city. Another impact quaked the village and now Clare's pace accelerated to a sprint as she rushed to investigate the cause of the tremors. Shops zipped by her as she neared the town center. Snow erupted to either side of Clare's steps as her speed reached its peak leaving a rush of wind in her wake.
She suddenly rounded another corner street to see the large open town center. Impact craters scarred the ground and punched through every building that surrounded the town square. The air hissed as she felt two distinct beings rush by her with incredible speed. Her eyes attempted to track them but they changed direction again. They zipped from the rooftops to the ground and back to the air once again. Clare could hardly see anything in the dark snow filled skies. She had to follow their movements with each impact. The sound of steel crashing and shearing against steel was hard to mistake. Whoever these two were they were locked in a death match as they continued to dash all around the square creating chaos.
It was the familiar whimper that made Clare's heart tear as she stood watching the battle before her. Just on the other side of the square sat a small child. Her arms wrapped around her knees as she sat crying on the steps leading up to the church that overlooked the square before her. Clare rushed across the battle field dodging high and low as the two adversaries dashed around her. Sparks illuminated the night as the two clashed sword for sword trading blows one after another. It was as if Clare was in the middle of a violent cyclone. Winds furiously wrapped around her as the two continued to blitz by her. Clare breathed a deep sigh of relief as she finally sprinted past the carnage to the other side of the frozen square. The little girl continued to whimper and cry as Clare carefully approached trying her best not to scare the child.
It only took three steps for Clare to recognize herself. The child's brown hair was covered with snowflakes that continued to build, not melting, no warmth. She cautiously sat next to the child extending her arm around the sad girl hoping to offer her both comfort and warmth. She flinched ever so slightly from Clare's embrace before she raised her head and met her green eyes with Clare's own silver set.
"She says I can't come back." The girl whimpered as she closed her teary eyes again letting her head sag with dreadfulness.
"Who said you can't?" Clare asked delicately. The girl simply raised a terrified arm and pointed to the two adversaries still slashing away at each other.
An enormous crash and a brilliant flash of sparks stole Clare attention. The battle before her was becoming more intense as their speed increased. Clare looked back towards the girl to find that she was gone, not even a trace of where she sat could be found. Clare searched with her hands on the ground hoping she wasn't losing her mind, but as she continued to search the ground long strands of brown hair fell in front of her face obstructing her vision. Her breathing stopped and chills ran down her spine as her trembling hands grabbed the long brown hair and slowly traced it to her own head.
"No! Please No!" Clare screamed in fear hoping it wasn't true but as her voice reached her ears she recognized it as one she possessed as a child.
Suddenly the two fighters halted their duel as if obeying Clare's wishes. There, in front of her on one side stood Teresa, bloodied, bruised, and near beaten. Her breathing was heavy and erratic as she leaned against her claymore using it as a crutch. Knicks and cuts covered her body and armor, it was clear that she was fighting for her life.
It wasn't difficult to discern who Teresa was fighting, her eyes glowed yellow, and her face was too familiar to be mistaken. It was Clare's other half. Her Yoma side had fully awakened, revealing the ugly monster that she was deep inside.
"Don't stop." Teresa said still panting from exhaustion as her enemy's sword came crashing against Teresa's own resuming their duel.
Alyssa saw the beam of light vanish over the horizon as she continued her march along the highway. She thought about abandoning her task and heading over to Rabona to see what had transpired but her discipline made sure to keep her thoughts in check. Using some quick arithmetic she estimated her location. She swore under her breath as she realized the next ten miles were thick with bandits who would undoubtedly slow her progress down.
A less traveled road winded to the northeast, branching off the main highway. She remembered some of her comrades telling her about a secondary road heading in this direction. An old road used by the guard many years before as a transport line. It was unused due to its restricted width and dangerous path along cliff sides high enough to ensure no human would survive. Alyssa reasoned that she could fair pretty well against odds that would be uncomfortable for normal humans.
The steep grade of the highway began to even out as Alyssa marched on. She was excited as she could see the valley below and knew she was gaining ground. She estimated that she would gain at least half a day's time if she kept her pace up.
An uneasy feeling settled in her gut as she listened carefully to everything around her. The birds had stopped singing, and in fact she couldn't hear any creatures around at all. The road became hard to follow which Alyssa expected and foliage slowed her pace. She was having second thoughts about her new route, and her fears were confirmed as she saw an old abandoned fort just ahead.