There was an invisible bubble around Clare as she walked. It kept out the sounds of swinging practice swords and fellow warriors arguing with each other and handlers bringing in a fresh batch of new 'recruits.' All of this was invisible to Number 27, the only thing she saw was the expanding forest up ahead. Her only thought was of her mission.

At least, that's what Hilary assumed as she watched her go. From her vantage point, high up and staring out a glass-free window, Clare was untouchable. Someone could probably throw a sword at her, and she wouldn't react beyond stepping out of the way (though she might return the favor as well, Hilary could never be sure). Her dedication and infallibility never ceased to amaze, not even now, when it did nothing but annoy the older warrior. Hilary shook her head.

"I don't know why I bother," she muttered. "Thank the Gods my baby-sitting days are over."

She turned on a heel and left the room, her cape swishing behind her. But even though Clare was long out of sight by the time she passed another window, Hilary's thoughts remained on her, and she had no idea why.

'I suppose this might be good for her,' her inner voice said over a large lunch of two thin bread slices. 'She faces something she never has before, something far over her head. It'll teach her humilty.'

Hilary washed her meal down with a glass of water, sighing in contentment and kicking her feet back on the table. Several of her colleagues moved away, clearly annoyed by her rude display. Hilary couldn't find it in her to care.

"Of course, that's assuming she doesn't die," she finished the thought aloud with a sardonic smile that faded just as quickly as it came. Replacing it was blankness and an odd sense of almost emptiness.

For some reason, the idea of Clare stupidly rushing the monster and getting killed for her troubles wasn't as amusing as Hilary thought it would be.

The walk from Headquarters to the tiny, back water town of Tigio took three long, tedious days following a river and kicking fallen branches out of her way. Clare was tired of it after the first hour, and dealt with the agitation by going over in her head everything she'd learned about Awakened Beings and the monsters like them, both from her official education and her unofficial.

In truth, Clare tried to keep thoughts of the records library away. With them always came the image of those eyes, of what they did to her and almost made her believe. Whenever that happened, the nearest tree or patch of grass always took the brunt of her fury. The wandering rabbits and raccoons were lucky, being a safe distance away whenever she had these fits. When they were over, Clare would force herself to stop and take several deep, calming breaths. She reminded herself that there was a time and a place for thoughts of this (and of her), but now wasn't it. Now, she had a very important job to get to.

On the morning of the fourth day, Clare stood on a rocky ridge that overlooked her destination. She wrinkled her nose, it looked even smaller and dirtier than she could have imagined. Walking through the streets roughly an hour later, she couldn't help but notice the scarcity of people, and the gloominess around those she did see. They refused to make eye-contact with her, but that was normal. She was a 'witch' after all. What was strange was how they reacted the same way to each other. Clare was positive not a single word had been spoken since she first arrived. Shops were closed up left and right, even though noon was fast approaching. Homes had their windows crudely boarded up, some of the front lawns sported flower bed that were either wilting or outright dead.

Clare couldn't help but grimace. Tigio was a ghost town, one that just so happened to have people living in it. Even she herself felt inexplicably depressed simply from making a cursory glance around. Brushing that aside, Clare walked with even strides to the obvious town hall where her comrades would be waiting. No one was there to greet her this time. Clare wouldn't have been surprised if the town leader had left the dying village already.

She stopped before a large, wooden door that looked damp and rotted in place. Pushing it open, it made a loud and unpleasant whine. Clare visibly winced at the sound, waiting until it was fully open to step inside. The first thing she noticed was the darkness. Even with candlelight littering the walls, she could barely see her hand before her face as she walked across broken planks towards the metallic shine of three seated warrior's armor.

The door slammed shut behind her, pushed by a seemingly invisible force that Clare paid no mind to. One of the soldiers, whom by the nearby torch she could see had medium length, wavy hair held in low hanging pigtails, stood from her seat and gave a nod.

"Welcome, we've been waiting for you," she said, her voice soft and high-pitched. "I hope you had no problems traveling."

"It sure took you long enough to get here," another voice, one with a snide quality Clare took an immediate dislike to, drawled.

"Settle down now," the first voice admonished. "We have plenty of time to get this done."

The second voice scoffed, but said no more. Clare squinted, leaning in to get a better look, and catching sight of a girl with very short hair and a bored look on her face slouching against the hall with her head resting on her hands. She was looking far too at home here.

The final member of their team, who sat right beside the second soldier and closer to the wall, was another story entirely. She was curled up in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest and covered by the longest hair Clare had ever seen. As a small child, she'd almost been proud of her own hair's length, but this girl put her to shame and then some. Then Clare got a look at her face and almost had to do a double take.

It was highly unlikely that she wasn't just seeing things. In this bad lighting, it was a given that she'd see things incorrectly, but if Clare didn't know any better, she'd say this girl looked scared. Assuming her wide eyes with the tiny pupils and the gleaming sweat on her forehead and the shaking of her arms was not a figment of Clare's imagination, she was actually terrified right now.

Clare cast a glance at the soldier who had greeted her, but she was still watching her, either ignorant or uncaring of anything else. Finally, she turned away, walking to the center of the room and kneeling down in front of something black and square-shaped near the floor. Clare wondered what it was for a moment before a flame sparked and grew into a full fire. The pigtailed soldier straightened, now fully visible by the light of the fireplace.

"Now that we're all here, I think we should introduce ourselves and talk a little about our experience hunting awakened beings," she said. "My name is Flora, I'm currently ranked number 11, and I'll be heading this extermination. This will be my second."

She gestured to the rude girl, who snorted.

"Couldn't be bothered to send a single digit?" she muttered loudly. "Whatever. I'm Helen and I'm Number 22. It's my second too."

Flora looked to Clare next, who proceeded to speak.

"I'm am number 27," she announced. "My name is Clare. I've never hunted an awakened being before."

A pause followed, one that went on longer than it should have considering there was one more member of their party. In the greater light, Clare found that her earlier assumptions had been right. The final warrior was quite literally shaking in her boots. She wouldn't even look up at any of them, preferring instead to study the floor and her legs. Clare, unfortunately, wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Wow, what's your problem," Helen said with a sneer. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the Big Bad Awakened Being. Poor baby."

The girl edged away from her, looking up for the first time to reveal heavily lidded eyes and lips pursed so tightly they were hardly even there. Helen opened her mouth, possibly to have another laugh at her expense, but a quick and deadly glare from Flora put a stop to that.

"It's alright. Please tell us your name," she gently coaxed.

The girl glanced around, fast at Helen, then at Clare, then at Helen again, and finally at Flora. Her fingers laced together, held tight in her lap as her body tensed. She let out a hard, shaking breath and spoke.

"I-I- My name is- is Evadne. I've never hunted an awakened being before… and I'm number 47."

The second that number left Evadne's lips, Helen's jaw hit the floor. She was mercifully silent for a time, but then broke out into raucous laughter that made Evadne look close to tears, Flora rolling her eyes, and Clare inches away from reaching out and ripping Helen's voice box right out from her throat. Even worse, she was trying to talk through her laughter.

"Oh- Oh- Oh that's rich," Helen gasped out. "Out of everyone, they sent the lowest rank possible? That's hilarious! No wonder you're such a coward. I'd be shitting my pant too if I were you."

As she continued to laugh and Evadne struggled not to cry, Clare realized that she was not the only one whose nerves Helen was fast getting on. Flora was away from the fireplace and in front of Helen with three long strides. Getting up close, she was the picture of indifference on the outside, put one look at her eyes and one would know how she was truly feeling. Not even Helen was thick headed enough not to see it, as her guffaws slowly dying out indicated.

"Please refrain from such rudeness," Flora all but ordered. "We are all comrades and as such, we need to work as a team. Teamwork does not derive from taunting, teasing, or alienating each other."

Helen was momentarily stunned. The look on her face made Clare wonder if anyone had even spoken to her this way. She would be amazed if no one was at least thinking. It didn't last long anyway, Helen was on her feet with narrowed eyes with little time passing. Her fingers flexed, as if itching to wrap them around the hilt of her sword.

"Oh really?" she said, leaning in close and all but daring Flora to back away. "What are you going to do I don't stop? Fight me?"

Despite the obvious threat and Evadne's sniffling, Flora was unfazed.

"I would rather not," she said. "But if you continue to act up, I suppose I would have no choice. For this reason, I ask that you please stop."

Something different was in the air now, something dark. Clare watched Flora intently, feeling for any sort of spike in her yoki signature. It remained even at an average level, and she never moved so much as a thumb in the direction of her sword. Perhaps then, it was the intensity of her glare that made Helen fidget, cough several times and then sit back down grumbling to herself. Clare would never know, as when Flora turned to look at her, she was smiling pleasantly as if nothing had happened.

"If you are all ready, we should be going."

The sun was just starting to set as the group of four wandered into the surrounding forest. An initial feel for yoki energy turned up nothing, but that was to be expected. According to Flora, they would find signs of it's presence the further into the forest they got. Though she had the most experience out of all of them, Clare was still weary of her superior's reassurances. Wouldn't the creature do whatever it could to not be detected? Voicing these suspicions only earned Clare a knowing smile.

"They can be rather… cocky, let's say," Flora explained. "You'll understand what I mean soon enough."

No more words where exchanged between them. Flora, as the leader, walked two steps ahead of the rest. Evadne, her eyes now dry and her face blank, brought up the rear. This left Clare in the middle, side by side with Helen. It wasn't as bad as Clare feared; the girl hadn't said a word since Flora's thinly veiled threat. Whether or not she really would have acted on it, Clare honestly couldn't say. It occurred to her that she really didn't know anything about the other Organization members.

Well, aside from Hilary. Even then, all Clare really knew was that she desperately wanted to punch the woman in her smug little face.

The journey remained uneventful throughout dusk and into the night. Clare was watching the full moon, trying to judge the time by it's position, when she heard a shriek followed by a thud. Her head whipped around just as Helen let out a loud expletive from her new place on the ground. Evadne stood above her, shaking and still clutching the end of Helen's cape that she'd clearly used to pull the taller woman down.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Helen shouted.

Evadne visibly winced, but stood her ground and pointed an unsteady finger at the ground before them.

"You almost stepped on them," she whispered.

Clare blinked in confusion, and Helen must have had a similar reaction since she wasn't saying anything. Two pairs of eyes turned in the indicated direction, focusing through the darkness to find a tiny hill of dirt right in the middle of the path. What looked like hundreds of even smaller black dots scampered on, in and around it, some of them carrying bits of leaf and the like on there backs.

"Ants," Helen said, staring incredulously at Evadne. "You threw me on my ass because you were worried about a bunch of ants? Are you kidding me?"

Evadne bit her lip and hung her head. The force of Helen's glare looked enough to burn holes in her skull. The lower ranked soldier mumbled something unintelligible, one hand rubbing the opposite arm sheepishly. She slowly lifted her head.

"They're living creatures," she said, digging her feet into the ground as if psychically illustrating that she would stand by her actions. "It wouldn't be right to kill them."

This was not the correct answer as far as Helen was concerned. Teeth bared and snarling, she got to her feet and charged Evadne, who backed up several steps but didn't try to run. Helen grabbed her by the collar, forcing her close and shoving her enraged face in close.

"The next words out of your mouth had better be an apology," she seethed. "If not, I'll-"

SCHWING

Helen froze, her rage melting and giving way to shock and confusion. Clare watched as her eyes shifted to the side, tracing the sharp lines of the sword hovering bare millimeters above her shoulder and neck. Though Flora's face was still set with blankness, her eyes glowered fiercely at Helen and made even Clare feel a degree of fear.

"You'll what, number 22?" her voice was low. "I ask that you kindly put her down. I will not have the same discussion with you twice."

Helen inhaled deeply through her nose. Her eyes found the sword again, then switched to Evadne. She stayed calculating her options for what seemed to be much longer than it actually was. The tension grew until, with a reverberating growl, she removed her hand and shoved Evadne away. This must have satisfied Flora, as she removed and replaced her sword in it's sheath. With a nod, she turned and marched with all the grace and superiority one would expect of a leader back to the front.

"Let's go," she said, not waiting for any sort of response before taking up an average pace.

The others were quick to follow, Helen stepping over the ant hill but kicking some dirt at it with her heel all the same. Evadne let out a squeak, but said and did nothing. Helen scoffed and shook her head before, unfortunately, turning to Clare.

"Can you believe her?" she hissed in her ear. "What, does she sympathize with ants because they're as weak as her or something? Geez, I knew the number 47 was going to be pathetic, but this is just killing me."

Clare didn't respond, hoping with little to back it up that Helen would get the message and leave her alone.

"She'd better stay out of the fight when we find this bastard. I'd rather not have to bury what's left of her when it's all over and done with."

Clare bit back a groan and inconspicuously walked faster. Within a minute, she was mercifully too far ahead of Helen for more chit-chatting and the peaceful atmosphere she'd previously enjoyed was restored.

At least until she felt a spike of yoki that was way too far off in the distance to belong to any of them. She wasn't the only one to immediately sense it either; Flora stopped dead in her tracks so suddenly that Clare almost ran into her. They looked out into the trees, seeing nothing but dense forest and an oddly still owl perched on a high tree branch.

Nevertheless, the yoki they all felt was getting stronger. Clare's fingers clenched around air as she realized that it was likely coming towards them. Beside her, Flora already had her sword out and ready.

"Might want to stand back," she heard Helen mutter snidely, likely at Evadne. "Unless you're going to try and stop us because it's a living creature."

Either her mocking didn't bother Evadne, or the low ranked warrior was too ashamed and embarrassed to answer. No more was said and three more swords were drawn. Clare gripped the hilt tight, it's flat surface cool to the touch. She lowered into a fighting stance, so focused on the trees and growing yoki that she didn't bother looking around to see if the others had done the same.

After another minute, Clare became aware of something else: footsteps, footsteps that increased in volume along with the yoki signature. Someone sucked in a breath, and another someone shushed them. There was movement out the corner of Clare's eye, but all she could see was the very tip of a sword just at her eye level.

"Get ready," Flora hissed.

The words registered in Clare's mind, but she offered no acknowledgement. She turned her head ever so slightly, allowing her to better hear the crackling leaves and twigs snapping. A flock of birds took off into the sky, cawing loudly, their wings beating the air. The noise did barely affected Clare's enhanced hearing. She easily tuned them out and focused on the important, the slow and steady thuds of two footfalls at a time.

This was it.

She heard the thuds again, and then again. The yoki was large, but nothing special. Again, and again, and again.

It stopped.

Clare blinked twice, her lips falling into a frown. The yoki hadn't changed, but it appeared the Awakened Being had… stopped moving?

In her confusion, Clare's sword arm slumped a tiny bit. Helen's face popped into her vision as the girl leaned over to address Flora. She looked just as, if not more, confused by this odd occurrence as Clare was. Helen's mouth had barely opened, not a single word getting out, before Flora jumped in front of them, her sword swinging.

"GET BACK!" she shouted, but she was drowned out by the monstrous roar accompanying a massive black shape as it leaped out of the trees and into the air.

It descended on Flora, and her sword zipped through the air, just barely missing it's mark. She leaped out of the way, avoiding the creature's foot about crush her head into the dirt. Clare staggered back, keeping her sword up and her eyes on the beast. It was at lest twelve feet tall, it's bug like face sported beady red eyes and a gaping mandible that looked far too big for the rest of the head. It's body was covered in a stone-like armor, white all over, but with an odd black spot near the left pectoral, and had a deceptively lanky build. By contrast, it's legs were massively and thick with hard muscle. In place of arms were a multitude of tentacles that waved wildly in the air, smacking into trees with abandon. One of the larger ones fell at Helen's feet, making her swear loudly.

"Alright, let's get this thing!" she shouted.

Like a bolt of lightning, she went from ten feet away to right in front of the beast. Her sword came down hard on it's torso, creating a long scratch and making it howl in rage, but doing little else. Helen clicked her tongue as she skidded back onto the ground.

"Hmph, I'll get him," she grumbled, readying her sword for a second go.

"Not like that, you won't," Flora said before Helen could make a move. "All you accomplished was to make it angry."

"At least I'm doing something," Helen cried, glowering at Flora as if they were just taking a relaxing stroll and not trying to defeat a ravenous monster that wanted to kill and eat them. "Can't say that same for some of us!"

Helen didn't say any names or make any gesture, but it was clear to all of them, especially the shivering number 47, who she was referring to. Flora raised an eyebrow.

"If I recall, you're the one who didn't want her to help," she said matter-of-factly.

The awakened being roared again, one tentacle sailing in their direction, cutting down everything in it's path. Flora and Helen effortlessly jumped into the air, narrowly missing the blow. Two swords flew down, but Flora's was faster. It met with the soft appendage and cut deep, sliding all the way through with little difficulty. As the beast screamed in agony, the severed tentacle dropped into the dirt at Clare and Evadne's feet. The latter let out a squeak and backed away, the former was unfazed and ready for some action of her own.

Clare ignored Helen and Flora as they tangled with a few more waving tentacles. She eyed the Awakened Being's exposed chest, bringing her sword to the ready and breaking into a run. She rammed the blade in, stabbing at it's flat stomach. Unfortunately, the armored skin was as tough as it looked. The sword went in barely a fraction of an inch, and the backlash was so intense, it almost made Clare lose her grip and fall backwards. Pulling away, she stepped back, and was amazed to see that the beast hadn't so much as looked in her direction. All it's attention was on Helen and Flora. And on screaming incoherently, it seemed.

"Hungry…" it rumbled. "I need food. So hungry. HUNGRY! GIVE ME FOOD!"

'It can't feel any attacks to the mid-section?' Clare wondered. 'But cutting off a tentacle hurt it.'

"Keep going for the tentacles," she called to Helen when the higher ranked warrior was close enough. "They're a weak spot."

"Thanks for the heads-up," Helen sneered, dodging another sloppy attack and swinging uselessly as the tentacle sailed over the monster's head.

"I NEED FOOD!"

"Then eat this!" Helen screamed, running in again and skewering the nearest tentacle. With a few hard tugs, she ripped the blade back out vertically, ripping the quivering thing right down the middle and spewing blood every wear. A fair amount found it's way on Clare's boots, and she wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell before bring down her own sword to finish the job.

By now, all but three tentacles had been dispatched, and the ones that remained were spinning and slamming into the ground harder than ever. The awakened being continued screaming nonsense. Clare was beginning to wonder, with the far off look in it's bugged out gold eyes, if the creature was even fully aware that it was in a fight. She parried to the right, avoiding yet another near fatal hit.

"Look out!"

Clare's head snapped to the side. She found an irate Helen being dragged away as a massive tentacle slammed into the ground where she'd been standing. Evadne, her unlikely savior, raised her sword for the very first time and sliced off close to half of the tentacle. A swift follow up move courtesy of Flora took care of the rest. The creature's agonized screams mixed with it's cries for food as Clare took out one more of it's last two appendages. And after dusting herself of and muttering something at Evadne that may or may not have been a thank you, Helen had the honor of removing the final one.

When it was piled on top of the rest, Helen landed on her feet beside Flora, swinging her sword up onto her shoulder and grinning cockily.

"This is almost too easy," she said, her laughter barely held in.

The armless creature had stopped moving, and now only issued inhuman grunts as it wiggled to and froe uselessly.

"Should we finish it off now?" Evadne meekly piped up.

Helen snorted at her. "So you do want to kill it, huh? Is it only bugs that get your sympathy."

Evadne looked away, wrapping her free hand around her torso defensively.

"Ants don't harm anyone, it's not right to hurt them," she said. "Yoma and Awakened Beings hurt and destroy everyday. They're bad, so they should be killed."

Clare blinked, furrowing her brow at Evadne while the girl nodded and gave her sword a few practice swings. How odd that someone as over sensitive as her could speak so nonchalantly about killing. Perhaps there was hope for this low ranker after all.

She turned back to Flora, ready to receive instructions on how to proceed from here. They still had no idea how to penetrate the awakened being's armor, but at least without the tentacles distracting them, they'd be able to stop and think. Then she caught sight of something strange, something out the corner of her eye where the monster was just barely visible. Switching her focus, Clare instinctively took a fighting stance. It was the best thing she could have done, as it appeared their enemy wasn't finished yet.

"What the hell is it doing?" Helen incredulously asked.

The awakened being's writhing had drastically grown in it's rapidity. The useless stumps that covered it's body waved around with it. They flip-flopped back and forth and a speedy rate, and as Clare follow their movements, she realized with a growing dread that they were changing shape.

They were growing longer.

"Oh dammit," she whispered, narrowing her eyes.

Her companions, one in particular, where a lot more vocal with their reactions to this new development.

"It REGENERATES?" Helen shouted. "You've got to be kidding me! Now what the hell do we do?"

Flora, calm as she'd ever been, brought a hand up to her chin. Her thumb brushed against her lower lip as she looked thoughtfully down at the ground.

"This presents trouble," she murmured. "Even if we remove the tentacles a second time, it'll likely just re-grow them again. I suppose they really weren't a weak spot. This really is troubling."

Clare found herself rapidly going back and forth between staring at the monster and at Flora. Her leader hadn't made a move yet, and she was still muttering to herself, now so low that Clare could no longer hear her. She walked closer to the higher ranked warrior, coming up right beside her.

"Any ideas?" she asked, though the answer was painfully obvious.

"We need to find it's weak point," Flora answered, this time in a normal speaking voice that allowed everyone to hear her.

Like a dam bursting, these words broke whatever was holding Helen back from recklessly charging in. She proceeded to do just that, screaming and swinging her sword at the rock solid armor. Scratches were gathering one by one, Helen even managed to prevent a few growing tentacles from reaching 'maturity.' Despite this, the monster barely reacted to her. Clare had to wonder if it even realized it was being attacked. Her question was answer when something gravely familiar appeared from behind the monster's back and slowly crept towards Helen. Clare's eyes widened, it appeared the creature had finally been able to grow back one of it's weapons. Helen was completely oblivious to it.

"Helen," Flora called out. "Helen move!"

The tentacle snapped into action immediately. Helen had no time to react before it was wrapping around her throat and squeezing tight. She gasped, her eyes bugging out as the monster raised her into the air and threw with all it's might. Helen crashed into several trees on her way to the ground. All of them small enough to be uprooted and leave her trapped in a tangled mess of leaves and branches. Flora clicked her tongue.

"That's what you get for not paying attention," she muttered, then pointed at Evadne. "Go help her."

"Oh, yes ma'am," Evadne said with a salute.

While she ran over to do her job, Flora sighed and looked again at Clare.

"There has to be a vulnerable point," she said. "Did you notice anything while fighting it?"

Clare lowered her gaze, racking her brain for any sort of answer. She went over all her actions since the battle started, as well as the others. Helen, of course, had been the first to charge in getting one good hit on it's armor, but not actually damaging it. That's when the tentacles came out to play, and from there they'd gotten rid of each one of them thinking it would be enough. Clare shut her eyes tight, struggling to think because she just knew she was missing something. Something had happened that could provide a clue.

'Come on, what is it?' she mentally raged. 'We've tried going for the armor, but it never reacts to those hits. Helen tried so many times and… wait.'

Clare came back to reality like someone had smacked her on the head. She shot back to attention, her hard gaze finding the creature. Her specific subject of interest was the armor, and the little black hole that rested almost invisibly on it. An ugly scratch ran through it like a head impaled on a stake.

That was the first place any of them had hit it, and unlike the other times they went for the torso, it had felt pain. Clare extending one finger, aiming for the hole like she was about to stick it in.

"There," she said. "Right there, that little hole in the chest. See it?"

Flora followed the guiding finger and then gave a curt nod.

"You think it's a weak spot?"

"I'm not sure," Clare admitted. "I just now that it wasn't happy when Helen almost hit it."

A low hum echoed from Flora's throat as she drummed her fingers against the hilt. Her head bobbed back and forth slowly, so that Clare wasn't sure if she was agree with her or not. Then, much to Clare's bewilderment, Flora returned her sword to it's sheath.

"Alright, it's worth a try," she said. "If I provide you a distraction, can you get a clean hit?"

Clare stared at her, not sure what to make of her question coupled with her essentially disarming herself a moment earlier. It was strange, but Clare found that she couldn't be too frustrated with her captain. In the short time since they had met, Flora had struck her as a capable person who knew her limits and knew when to be serious. There must have been a logical explanation for her actions.

"I think I can," she answered. "But how are you going to distract it?"

Flora gave a small smile, one that spoke volumes louder than what she said next.

"I have something special that I've been working on. Now might be a good time to test it out."

She was gone in an instant, leaving a trail of dust and a stunned Clare in her wake. She had not a moment to process this before the awakened being's yoki exploded, a scream ripping out of his throat simultaneously.

"FEED MEEEEEE!"

The tentacles shot out, and Clare jumped out of the way. The tips came mere millimeters away from her metallic shoes and instead flailed as Clare increased the distance between them. Her eyes remained on that hole, not wanting to lose track of it for even a second.

"Damn," she said, aiming her sword at the hole. "Where are you, Flora?"

Her comrade's yoki was nowhere to be found. Helen's and Evadne's she found easily, even with the overwhelming waves the awakened being sent out. They were together and off on the side, though Clare imagined if Helen were conscious, she'd be wanting to get back into the fight as soon as possible. Hopefully, this would be over before that could happen, but where on earth had Flora gone?

Something ignited in the air, and Clare gasped as the sought after yoki signature returned with a vengeance. Her jaw fell open, and she almost didn't believe what she was seeing, but there she was.

Flora stood, calm and at the ready, atop the creature's swollen head. It appeared that she was going unnoticed, as the monster paid her no mind and screamed louder, begging to be fed. Looking closer, Clare saw that Flora's eyes were closed, but that meant nothing when the girl gripped her sword and called out.

"Get ready, Clare!"

"What are you doing?"

Flora didn't answer, but there was no need. At the moment, Clare felt a massive burst in her yoki energy, so much so that it was almost on par with the awakened being, and came dangerously close to overloading Clare's senses. She did feel a headache coming on and winced at the growing pain. Whatever Flora was doing, it created huge gashes all over the beast's body. More than one grazed the target hole, blowing Flora's cover. The awakened being howled in pain and fury, changing it's goal from finding food, to crushing whatever it was that had done this to it. All thoughts of the other three warriors were gone, it seemed. The monster now only cared about removing Flora.

And it was through this action that the hole was left completely unguarded.

Clare hesitated not a second longer. This was her chance and she was seizing it by the throat. Her speed was inhumanly, her drive even moreso. Clare reared back her sword arm, the hole encompassing her entire vision. She let out a grunt as her arm snapped forward, plunging her sword straight through the fleshy patch of black like it was a bulls eye.

Contrary to her expectation of more screaming, this time in defeat, followed by the awakened being slumping over dead, all sounds stopped in an instant. Clare was momentarily afraid that she had been wrong, and that all she'd accomplished was to get herself and Flora killed. One by one, the tentacles dropped to it's sides, twitching but otherwise unmoving. The beast swayed, leaning more towards the front and finally falling just as Clare hopped out of the way. Flora stepped off the beast head with the grace of a ballroom dancer, her sword still sheathed and by all accounts unused.

"Thank goodness that's over," Flora remarked, sliding a slimy tentacle out of her path with her shoe. "And I'm glad to see my technique was effective."

Clare nodded, not tearing her eyes away from her newest kill. This didn't go unnoticed.

"Oh yes, this was your first time dealing with an awakened being. I'd almost forgotten."

Flora would receive no answer, as Clare was even more unwilling to make chit-chat than even before. She didn't know what she should be feeling right now: accomplishment, relief, joy? Clare lightly touched her stomach, it was calm as ever, even with the rising stench of the carcass. She realized that she felt nothing, not even a hint of satisfaction. There was no regret either, of course. This thing was a monster and it had to be treated as such. Now it was dead, and the world would go on turning without it. This was just another day for the Silver-Eyed Witches.

Clare inhaled deeply, then turned to Flora. There were more pressing matter that warrented discussion now that the mission was complete.

"What exactly was that technique?" she asked.

The smile Flora wore was knowing, and kind of infuriating. Clare clenched a fist, if there was one thing she hated, it was smug self-importance. She didn't want to think of Flora that way, as the woman had been nothing but friendly and polite this entire thing, unlike some people Clare could mention.

'Well, nobody's perfect,' the little voice in her head joked. It went unappreciated.

"Truthfully, I don't have a name for it yet," Flora said, her sword handle glittering in the sunlight. "I'll think of one eventually, after I've perfected it. There's still some polishing to do, you see." Her smile widened. "Maybe I'll show you how it works someday."

With that, Flora turned on a heel and announced to the others that it was time to go. Evadne was the first to follow, lightly pulling at Helen's arm, prompting her to come as well. Clare moved at her own time, first taking one last look at the beast and committing the sight of it's broken body to memory. She wouldn't want to forget this any time soon, and her contentment with the knowledge that she'd cleared another hurdle in working to achieve her goal would make the trip home a far faster and much more enjoyable experience.

"I can't believe you guys killed it without me!" Helen whined. "I almost had him, you know!"

Clare bit back a groan.

"So," Elgiz slid up beside the hooded Dae like the unpleasant snake he was. "The little experiment had her first hunt today. Aren't you excited?"

"If you're just going to bother me, go find something else to do, Elgiz."

Dae's curt response was answered in turn by a low clicking of Elgiz's tongue and a shake of his head.

"That's not really ni-ice," the wild looking man said.

Dae grunted and turned away, forcing himself to focus on the letter he was composing and not to give the annoying doctor the time of day. This was easier said than done.

"I just read Rubel's report too. Clare did a wonderful job dealing the final blow. I couldn't be more proud, she's my creation you know."

"Yes, I know," Dae droned. "You're gone on about her enough times already."

"Well why not?" Elgiz sounded affronted now, an oddity for his usual insane glee. "She's like my very own daughter, one of the family! Family's the most important thing after all. Don't you know that?"

He would not receive another answer, as Dae decided enough was enough and grabbed up his pens and parchment. Elgiz waved goodbye as his colleague left, slamming the door hard behind him. He then busied himself with humming a happy song mostly reserved for children, and drew some equations on the chalkboard with unheard of speed and accuracy. He, and Dae before him, was unaware of the pair of eyes on him, watching his every more and hearing his every word.

"I'm so proud, I'm so proud, I'm so proud of my smart and strong little Clare!" he sang, adding little dance moves here and there.

Hilary made a face, disgust worn plainly on her sleeve. She was already unsure of how to take what she'd just overheard, whether to be happy or annoyed by it. This was helping only to make her feel sick.

She was gone before Elgiz's dance called for him to do a spin, leaving him to face the slightly ajar opposite side door.

A/N: That was the longest fight scene I've ever written. I was a little unsure, but all in all, I think it turned out okay.