Disclaimer : I don't own Claymore. Can you imagine if I did?

()()()()

Even though she could not see them, just knowing that the rocky lands that made Staff were in front of her was enough to make Galatea frown. The disguised Claymore, who was still dressed as a nun, ignored the curious looks she could feel on her and requested the nearest warrior for Deneve's location. Instead however, she was simply told to wait and that Deneve would meet her soon.

Galatea frowned at the dismissal until she remembered that most warriors here didn't know her. With her Yoki suppressed, all they saw was a blind human travelling with two Claymores. Considering Miata's age and Clarice's colored hair, they must have seemed a rather strange group.

Behind her, her two companions took a moment to breathe, as Galatea had enforced a quicker-than-normal pace to arrive. It was made obvious by the amount of dust on them and their slightly disheveled state.

Galatea on the other hand still managed to look impeccable.

Soon enough, a rather surprised Deneve joined them and, after a quick exchange of pleasantries, Clarice excused herself, mentioning that she and Miata were in desperate need of a bath.

This of course immediately made the warrior-child take off like her life was on the line, starting yet another game of cat and mouse between her and her surrogate mother.

The two remaining Claymores exchanged a short laugh before Deneve asked, "By the way, not that I am unhappy to see you, what are you doing here?"

"I am not quite sure." Galatea admitted. "I had this weird feeling that I had to come here… First I ignored it, but recently I couldn't take it anymore."

"Right… you're going to tell me it was a divine intervention." Deneve smirked.

"Very funny."

Galatea was leaving out the 'signs' that had made her leave Rabona. At the beginning, she was simply tripping on her own feet. Then she started missing the doors and walking straight into wall instead. Not to mention the old lady who had dumped an entire bucket of dirty water just as she walked under her window…

This was not so much a calling from the gods, than them kicking her out of the Holy City. That or they were punishing her for posing as a nun.

"Still, I am glad to see you, it saves me from sending you a message. I need your help with something." Deneve said as she led her away.

()()()()

They had walking for a while through the maze of corridors, and Galatea was finding herself intrigued since she had never been allowed so deep into the complex. If she had to guess, she would say they were near the old laboratories, where sensitive experiments were being carried.

"Don't come closer!" the panicked voice, identified as Tabitha's, shouted, her statement enforced by the tip of a claymore aimed at the arrivals.

Galatea raised an eyebrow at the fear she could feel through Tabitha's Yoki while Deneve remained calm.

"Tabitha," she said with a patient tone, like she was addressing a five years old child, "we need to go down."

"No! You mustn't! The beast will get you! Like all the others!" Tabitha shouted back.

"A beast?" Galatea repeated in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"It's complicated." Deneve replied.

"It's a beast… it's waiting down there, and any Claymore that faces it will… will…" she was unable to finish as words couldn't describe the horror awaiting there (and conveniently forgetting the goofy grin on anyone who faced the 'beast'). "So I must stand guard, and prevent anyone from going down."

"Forgive Tabitha, the last few days have been rough on her, not to mention she hasn't slept in a while." Deneve explained since Galatea couldn't see the dark circles under the rambling warrior's eyes.

"Can't sleep, the beast will get me… can't sleep the beast will get me…"

"Taby, calm down, Galatea has nothing to fear from the beast, remember?" Deneve tried to reason her friend.

"She's safe?" Tabitha asked hopefully.

"She's safe; in fact she's the safest out of us. No go take some rest."

"It's not a trick right? Several have tried already, you're not going to go to the beast too, Deneve?"

"I won't, I promise." the short-haired warrior said soothingly.

"Okay then." Shakily, Tabitha put her sword back and allowed the pair to pass.

As they walked down the stairs leading to Dae's den, Galatea couldn't help but ask. "What was that about?"

"An old human friend of Clare's was infected by some kind of parasite shortly before our rebellion, and apparently he was taken here. I need you to ascertain whether or not he's dangerous, and if not, release him." Deneve explained.

"But what was that about a beast? Another experiment lurking down there too? Why didn't you kill it? Heck, why did it look like Tabitha has been guarding this door for days non-stop?"

"Because she has. She's the only one I could trust with this task." Deneve answered with an eerie voice. "All the others had… problems."

"Problems?" Galatea repeated in a way that made it clear that she wanted explanations.

"It's… complicated."

"Right… And why exactly do you need me? Why am I safe?" Galatea thought about it for a moment. Deneve wanted her to face something that no warrior had been able to take down, including those with extensive experience in dealing with Awakened Beings. "Heck, how could one creature cause so much havoc? Is it that powerful? Because if it is, I don't think I can fight it alone."

"It is not actually strong, and you won't need to fight." Deneve reassured her. "It's… it's just complicated."

Ignoring Galatea's increasing frustration, Deneve abruptly stopped. "This is as far as I go; the door is about thirty feet ahead."

"You know Deneve, if I didn't know you, I'd think this is some kind of trap. Instead I'll assume you have a good reason, but I'd like to know why exactly you won't even come to the door with me." the fake nun scowled.

"Because any further and I'll be tempted to go inside." Deneve replied, only increasing Galatea's confusion.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's…"

"All right, I get it!" Galatea shouted in exasperation as she stomped to the door, obviously wanting to get done with it, whatever it was.

()()()()

It looked like a race as the two blurs tore through the lands at breakneck speed, shoulder to shoulder even though each kept trying to pull ahead of the other. If anyone could manage to get a good look at the pair, they would have been surprised at the discovery that they were both women.

A male observer would have passed out at the fact that they were both naked, and completely unbothered by it.

And anyone who knew them would have been shell-shocked that these two weren't trying to kill each other at the moment.

Then again, they had more urgent matters than revenge right now, namely securing their man before any other silver-eyed hybrid got their claws on him.

And even this unspoken truce, which would end as soon as the matter closed, didn't stop the snide comments being tossed back and forth.

"I knew you were weak, but I didn't think you were an exhibitionist as well." the smaller brown-haired woman quipped.

"That's rich coming from you, Miss I-flash-thirteen-years-old-boys." the bob-haired Claymore shot back, idly noticing that she was keeping up even without Awakening her legs.

Amazing what you can do when properly motivated.

"You know you cannot win against me, so why don't you save yourself more humiliation?" Priscilla asked with fake friendliness.

"In a fight, maybe." Clare conceded before smirking. "But in this department, I do hold the advantage." she finished with a pointed look at her rival's chest.

Priscilla growled in annoyance, knowing that killing Clare would ruin her chances with Raki, though the opposite was also true. Still, while she enjoyed the after-effects of their melding, she couldn't help but think she had gotten the short end of the stick.

Sure, being able to feed off from normal food would remove the biggest hurdle between her and Raki. However Clare's major problem had also been solved and the Claymore now sported a flawless torso, perfectly devoid of any stigmata or marks.

It didn't help that Clare's slender body was a good bit curvier than Priscilla's lithe figure, especially her bust and hips. Sure Priscilla couldn't be considered flat-chested either, but Clare easily outmatched her.

Clare's smirk widened at having won this minor battle with her arch-nemesis : it may not be the same as defeating her in a fight, but it was still pretty satisfying. As people say, everything is fair in love and war.

Besides, as Helen said, if you've got it, flaunt it!

And now that she could flaunt it, there was no way in hell she wouldn't!

()()()()

"Hello?" The hesitant voice greeted Galatea when she stepped into the cell, a smooth baritone that sounded warm and friendly to Galatea's ears.

Still, she decided to remain cautious, so she gave a neutral reply. "Greetings."

"Thank you God!" the man exclaimed. "Usually, all those who come here go out immediately. I don't even have the time to say anything… My name's Raki by the way. What's yours?"

"I am Galatea, and I am the former Number Three of the now-destroyed Organization."

Raki sighed. "You know, I've always wondered why you Claymores refer to yourself by your rank. You are people, not numbers you know. Anyway are you going to free me?"

Galatea raised a surprised eyebrow at being considered a person by someone she had just met, more so since this man knew what she was. "First I need to assess if you are a danger. According to Deneve, you were hit by some kind of parasite."

"Oh yeah, those. I think they're dead, they fell off a couple of days ago. Wait, you mentioned Deneve, I met her once. Is she here? Is Clare here too?" Raki asked.

"Clare is not here, sorry. But she is alive, don't worry. You will not be able to see her for a while though." Galatea explained, remaining deliberately vague. Deneve had said he was Clare's friend, she didn't need him to throw a fit. "Didn't Deneve tell you?"

Raki managed to shrug despite hanging from the ceiling. "You're the first person I've spoken to since I've been here. When the others come in, all I hear is some sloshing sound and I'm alone again before I can even speak."

"A sloshing sound?"

"Yeah, like a small geyser going off. I wonder what it means."

"Can't you see what happens?" Galatea asked, trying to understand what the hell was going on with the other warriors, only guessing this young man was involved.

Galatea couldn't quite describe the nagging feeling in her head. It was like she was deliberately being left out of something.

She got a chuckle in answer. "In case you haven't noticed, I am facing away from the door and I can't move."

"I am blind," Galatea informed matter-of-factly. "I cannot see you."

All trace of humor fled from Raki's voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…" he stammered, absolutely mortified.

Despite herself, Galatea couldn't help but smile at how genuinely sorry he sounded. "This is nothing, rest assured that it doesn't impede me in any way. In fact, it only made my sensing abilities even stronger. Speaking of which…" she finished as she focused harder on the lingering Yoki within Raki's body. Immediately, the formless glob of Yoki she could feel started getting more defined.

"Sure. Oh by the way, do you think you could get me some water and food." His voice then took a more sheepish tone. "Some underwear would be nice too."

He didn't know why, but he heard the blind Claymore blink. Hard.

()()()()

Meanwhile, Deneve was pacing in the corridor, casting nervous glances to the door of the cell and hoping that everything was all right, for Raki's sake, for Clare's sake.

For everyone's sake.

'Maybe I should check on them.' she thought, taking a step toward the room. 'Just a little peek… NO! Bad Deneve!' She glared at the imaginary line mere feet away, as it was where her self-restraint would snap and her hormones would lure her inside the room. She could almost hear it whisper in her mind, tempting her, daring her… 'Come on, just look… no one will know… '

Deneve's mental struggle was interrupted by something impacting with her body and sending her to the floor, back into the 'safe' zone. Looking down, she was dismayed to find out that she was now holding a goofily grinning Galatea, the trail of blood coming from her nose as explanatory as the dazed look in her silver eyes.

Wait! Silver eyes?

'Don't tell me…' Deneve thought in consternation, faintly noticing that the scar over Galatea's eyes was gone too.

"Deneve… I can see…" Galatea breathed in amazement, apparently not quite able to fathom how this had happened. She could remember the image that had been formed in her mind's eye as her incredible abilities allowing to 'see' each individual muscle through the Yoki that flowed through them.

Upon getting the entire picture, and for the first time in her life, 'God Eye' Galatea had honestly thought her abilities had failed her. There was no way a man could have such a fine ass. She just had this overwhelming need to confirm this with her own eyes, her regenerative abilities suddenly working harder than they ever had and then…

Galatea's memory flashed to the very first thing she saw with her restored sight, which would forever be seared into her mind.

It looked even better in the flesh.

"So wonderful…" she giggled, squealed and finally passed out in Deneve's arms.

"Excuse me! Galatea? Is everything all right?" Raki called innocently from his cell.

'Someday I will have to tell him.' Deneve thought tiredly.

Damn! How were they going to solve this problem? Any Claymore that went in would get thrown out in seconds, not to mention they kept trying to sneak back inside. That was why she had Tabitha guard the door. The poor warrior had been fine with Raki's backside, but a single look at the 'beast' had traumatized her to the point she gladly accepted to 'protect' her friends from it.

She had thought Galatea's blindness would make her immune, but it seemed Raki (or rather, his rear end) had caused spontaneous regeneration!

Would this madness ever end?

The approaching voices and sounds of running broke Deneve's thoughts.

"Come back here!"

"I don't wanna!"

"Miata! Come take a bath!"

"I hate baths!"

Well, at least Miata wasn't running around naked and Clarice was wearing more than a mere towel. It looked like Clarice had yet to get her 'daughter' into the bathroom.

Deneve let out a small, amused chuckle as they ran past her and straight into Raki's cell.

Pause! Into Raki's cell?

"WAIT! DON'T…" Deneve shouted.

Her warning came too late as once again a Claymore was sent flying into La-La-Land. Checking quickly, she saw that Clarice was passed out, but fine.

As if the smile on her face was not enough proof.

Inside the cell, a small voice could faintly be heard.

"… Hurt… Mama…"

"Huh? Hello?" Raki asked tentatively.

"Bad man… hurt… Mama…" Miata repeated, speaking through gritted teeth.

SWISH!

CRASH!

"YIKES!"

Deneve had no time to do anything as a large flesh-colored blur ran out of the cell, immediately followed by a smaller gray and blonde one.

"BAD MAN HURT MAMA!"

"HELP ME!"

"Don't tell me…" Deneve groaned before she carried both Galatea and Clarice back into the main hallway. As soon as she was done, she saw Helen leaning unsteadily against the wall, holding her nose in an attempt to stop the blood from flowing.

"Deneve, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, Raki's free. The bad news is, he's running through the compound, buck-naked and chased by Miata."

"What's the damage?" the short-haired warrior asked, already dreading the answer.

"So far," Helen continued, "fifteen warriors and twenty-three trainees have passed out. Those three warriors Dae was working on, you know, the ones he was trying to resuscitate… well, they started moving when the kid ran into the lab, can you believe that?"

Deneve looked down to the blissfully unconscious Galatea. "Somehow, I can." Ignoring Helen's confused look, she asked, "Don't tell me those three are roaming around too."

"No, luckily their bodies were too incomplete. They collapsed and died again in seconds."

"Thank you God." Deneve breathed, glad for the small mercy. Abyss Feeders were bad enough, no need for zombie warriors too.

"Still, there is a problem with Taby…"

"She's having a relapse?"

"Actually no. You see, she was there when it happened. So she said she was going to put Miria's body back together and 'use the beast to bring Captain Miria back to life'." Helen confessed. "Also, the few warriors who did not pass out have joined in the chase." What Helen did not mention was that as soon as she was done here, she would be joining too.

"Do you have any good news for me? Please? Anything?" Deneve pleaded.

Her only answer was a very familiar Yoki suddenly being felt outside… very familiar and very pissed off.

"Yes, looks like Clare is back." Helen replied. "And it feels like she's not alone."

()()()()

The chase had come to an abrupt stop when the group ran into the incoming duo. While they didn't notice the finer details, including Raki's state of dress, both Clare and Priscilla put two and two together and understood the gist of the situation.

Somebody was after their man. Quite literally in this case.

"All of you." Clare growled at the assembled warriors, the iciness of her tone actually managing to break even Miata's berserk mindset. "Leave. Now."

The surging Yoki around Priscilla certainly added to the intimidation factor, as shown by the chasing group resuming their run; in the other direction.

Claymores may hunt Awakened Beings, but this was suicide.

Raki was so confused about the sudden appearance of the two most important women in his life he momentarily forgot about his nakedness. Part of his mind however did notice neither woman was clothed either, and enjoyed the sight.

As in, visibly enjoyed it.

"Clare, Priscilla, what are you doing here?" he asked, unaware of a certain growing problem.

At his question, and finally free of the other females' presence, they looked at him and their eyes instantly widened. The only thing preventing them from fainting was that it would leave the other free to claim Raki unhindered.

"Are you two all right?" Raki asked, still not noticing his own predicament.

Clare nodded dumbly, only able to think about two things : one, she had been a complete idiot for leaving Raki seven years before. Two, she really needed to make up for lost time. Maybe even with interests.

Priscilla on the other hand was wondering how the hell this was supposed to fit…If she used her Awakened form… maybe…

"You know," Clare began, her eyes never leaving Raki even though she wasn't speaking to him, "there is only one way to solve this…"

Priscilla merely nodded. "Whoever catches him first…" she stated as she took a step forward, which was mimicked by Clare.

Raki instinctively stepped back.

"… WINS!" they both finished as they pounced.

Raki immediately started to run again, both women hot his tail.

He did try his best, which led to the tales of a naked man being chased by a pair of hot naked girls through the land, but in the end, they did catch him.

At the same time.

()()()()

Author note : I know, Miria turned out to be alive, so why is she absent? I wrote the first of the fic with the idea that Miria was dead, as she was thought to be back then, so I decided to stick to it. Furthermore, I don't think I could fit her being alive here since the rebellion Deneve led was not the bloodless one Miria wanted. Tensions would have been high between the two and would have broken the mood. So ultimately, our dear Phantom got a break from my constant teasing…

Extra scene : Miria's afterlife

In the Afterlife, we find a certain Phantom lounging in a deckchair, wearing only a sexy black bikini and tended to by three adoring fans.

"Do you need more air, Miria-sama?" fanboy#1 asked as he gently waved the large fan over his goddess.

"It's perfect, thank you." Miria replied, tiling her head to the side to catch a grape fanboy#2 was feeding her. Meanwhile, fanboy#3 was reverently massaging her feet,

"Is there anything we can do for you Miria-sama?"

"Actually," Miria replied as she gracefully rolled over, presenting her backside to her personal (and very willing) servants, "I'd like to work on my tan. Would one of you be kind enough to put some lotion on me?"

Ten minutes and a fistfight later…

"Now I understand what Teresa meant when she said never to ask that." Miria stated half-amused, half-annoyed, looking at the three unconscious men. "Oh well, I'll ask her instead."