Fandom Claymore Zero

[InsaneAsylum]

Chapter 1
Bloody Beginnings​

The night was wet and cold. A lone figure trekked just within the tree line, occasionally gazing into the clearing she circled with her sharp silver eyes. A heavy downpour matted down her long blonde hair, much to the figure’s annoyance. The ground beneath her squelched with each step, and thunder boomed above her. Normally, she wouldn’t let herself get caught in a storm. Rain always brought about feelings of sorrow. Today however, was a special occasion. Sadness would have to wait.

A small abandoned cabin came into view. It’s door was broken down but it was otherwise intact. The woman’s soft hand grasped the door frame as she stepped inside with a sigh of relief.

“You actually came. I thought you hated the rain,” a young girl’s voice spoke up from a dark corner of the cabin. The blonde woman turned towards the voice, her face blank.

“It’s no problem,” the woman replied flatly.

The girl chuckled, her form becoming visible again as she stepped from the shadows. She had straight chin length white hair, and a short thin body. She looked no older than sixteen. What stood out the most about her, however, was the black streak of hair hanging in front of her face. Her silver eyes gazed deviously up at the woman before her.

“To think that the great Lisa the Wise would grace me with her presence… what an honor!” She said with exaggerated hand motions and a palm on her chest.

“You’re as annoying as ever,” Lisa replied with an eyeroll. She let out a soft exhale and let her muscles relax. “What did you find out this time?”

The younger looking claymore grinned. “I know where Levia is.”

Lisa’s brow twitched before she responded. “And?”

“And what?” The girl replied, feigning innocent confusion.

In an instant, Lisa’s blade was at her neck. “This isn’t the time for your games, Susie.”

Lightning struck, illuminating the dark cabin for a brief moment, just long enough for Susie to see two golden eyes piercing into her. She laughed, stepping into the blade so that a light cut formed on her neck. A single drop of blood ran down the length of the claymore.

“You think I do this stuff for free? You’ll have to do me another favor if you want to know,” Susie stated, barely containing her laughter.

The blade pushed harder against Susie’s neck, who winced but didn’t falter. The claymore was dripping now.

“The organization has known for quite some time now. They have Nanna keeping an eye on her. She’s east of Chetvertia, past the mountains,” Susie said, watching Lisa slowly remove the sharp edge from her neck. Blood seeped down her chest, staining the white cloth she wore. “I’m sure they’ll mobilize against her eventually. They’re training some warriors to work in groups now.”

“It won’t matter,” Lisa responded, her tone lower than before.

Susie nodded. “Of course it won’t, but the organization is desperate. And whatever they decide to do will give you your opening.”

Lisa turned to leave, the rain still pouring just outside the empty raggedy cabin. Susie spoke up just before she stepped outside.

“Now here’s what I need you to do for me…”

———————————————

The sun did little to warm the plains. The grass was wet and slick, and the ground muddy. Desolate gray clouds lingered overhead, occasionally blocking out the sun and coating the grassland in a dull depression. A smooth boulder stuck out in the endless grassland, and sitting on it was a single small warrior. She had white hair with a streak of black hanging in front of her face.

Next to the boulder was the dirt road leading towards the village. The village was about a quarter of a mile away. Susie could see it, but she could smell it even better. The stench of decay was strong. She assumed the yoma would have a lookout or two, but it seemed they were preoccupied as she couldn’t make out any movement. She could feel the yoma presence there though. It was thick, and she couldn’t make out the number of them. That usually meant there were a lot of them.

Susie hummed to herself as she waited for the other warriors to arrive. She was early, as usual, but she was excited to meet some new faces. But she was even more excited to see how they fought. She had yet to meet anyone who fought better than the gal who killed everything with a single slice. She was a sight to see

The mission was an easy one in Susie’s eyes. They had to take down a hungry group of yoma who wiped out an entire village. The amount in question, however, was unknown. A nearby village put in the request when a passerby reported the village smelling like death. Nonetheless, the group would have to be wary. Yoma in large numbers could take out a higher ranked warrior if they weren’t careful.

There was one thing that confused Susie though. It wasn’t normal for this many yoma to ever come together. There was no reason for it. Sure they could wipe out a village without letting them request a claymore to come, but eventually a nearby town would notice their neighbors going quiet. They were either dumb, or brave. Susie assumed both.

With an exaggerated groan, Susie leaned back on the boulder.

“A dreary day for a dreary mission…”

 

[Orikanyo]

Elizabeth

Ganryu

"...Yea know, ever get a bad feeling? Like yer stopped short of a cliff's edge and yea know theres no other way than to slowly try and climb down? Some would jump off like maniacs yea know, but I ain't no fool, Liz ain't gonna die jus' from a little climb yea know? Down or up it's just a matter o' time before yea get down or up. One step, one Yoma beheaded, jus' how it is really." Liz continued to rattle off to her friendly walking companion, whom no doubt has grown very much tired from the unending prattling coming from the woman's mouth.

"But now, we gots a job, a proper big job that requires lots of folks together an' a buncha low rankin' gals at that. Lead by... Uhh..."

She fiddles around, unrolling her "cheat sheet" that she tries to hide from her totally blind friend.

"Wait, the highest ranking one of us is the tiny one? HAhahahahaha! Thats great, the cute little puppy is the star of the show hahahaha!"

Her laugh echoed throughout the area, causing several birds to spook from their roosts in the trees.

"Bugger me... Who else is in the bunch... Uhh... Well I've NEVER heard o this Anabelle, could be anybody really, Evangeline...? Uhh... Don't think I remember much of her, religious I think? Mallory, girl is a looker right? I see you glancin' at me Ana~ Don'tchyea worry I ain't gonna drop yea for a pretty face Hahahahaha!

An Asteria, our high rankin' puppy.

Whatchyea think? bettin' chances of diein' in this one? I'd bet on us, naturally."

The woman folds both hands behind her head, sticking out her chest and walking with absolute confidence in their ability to atleast get out without dieing. "Oh!, wait I think I missed one..." she unfurls the small paper and eyes it again...

'Oh...? OH!!!

We got Skunky!

Susie the Skunk is with us!"

 

[MocaPoka]

Number 31: Asteria Tahden

​

Muck and mud clung to her once pristine and gleaming sabatons. Her lower ankles were wet from moist grass and starting to coat with clinging brown dirt. She however continued her trudge through the grasslands to her next orders. The dull sun and overcast clouds had made the last leg of her journey a monotonous one, but she was thankful for the solitude that the sea of grasslands provided her travels. In more populous areas or paved roads she often had to suffer from running into traveling humans or working farmers. Here though there was only grass, muck and mud.

As far as she was concerned muck and mud were for easier to deal with than villagers or farmers…

Ahead, the small Warrior saw a smooth boulder. One of her own kind was sitting one it and Asteria let out a small sigh of relief. She was happy that her trudge through the grasses were coming to an end and that she had successfully arrived at her orders. Quickening her metal steps; Asteria’s large eyes went to her sister Warrior with subdued excitement gleaming in her silver orbs and with a small smile on her small, pink lips. Her demure stature and short height noticeably perked up as her footfalls finally stopped for the first time in three days.

“G-Greetings. Number 31, A-Asteria. I… hope I am not late. I was told there would be others?”

The shorter Claymore briefly gazed up at her sister Warrior with curious wonder after her small greeting and quiet question left her lips. The single lock of black stood out starkly from her Sister's white hair. Asteria had never seen a fully matured Warrior with colored hair before. Blonde, silver, and white were to her knowledge the only hair colors a Warrior could ever have. Perhaps something had gone wrong with her Sister’s transformation or she was ill in some way? The desire to ask sprung in Asteria’s chest, but she tapped it down; it would be rude to ask about a possibly impairment.

Quickly looking away from her Sister’s hair, Asteria’s silver gaze wandered about the area. A small dirt road was near and likely led to their orders. A large number of Yoma were about a quarter mile away judging from the Yoki she felt. She guessed a human village had been eaten from the foul smell that hung in the air. It was slightly saddening but Asteria felt relief more than anything.

She wouldn’t have to converse with the villagers now, but she wouldn’t feel lonely with her fellow Sisters with her. Hopefully if this order was accomplished well she would get more like this one. That would be nice.

 

[Ganryu]

Anabelle, the Empty
​

Anabelle made a light hum as her head turned to the sun, feeling the warmth on her face as she gently heard the water drip from the tops of long blades of grass, and the sounds of rustling as Liz made her way through the plains, Anabelle following exactly in her footsteps. It was almost uneery how only one set of footprints was being left along the trail. It was a habit that prevented Anabelle from falling into an odd hole or other embarrassing situations.

The humidity was intense in the rising sun, Anabelle could feel it against her clothes. It wasn't particularly pleasant, but still, the smell of fresh rain across the land was one of Anabelle's favorites. Sadly, there was the stench of Yoma, but that was just them. Pity that smell didn't go away, no matter how much one scrubbed. The 'wound' of all claymores, ever present, ached on Anabelle. For a moment, her skin shuffled unnaturally as she whispered to herself. "No... the smell... it's getting stronger..."

The blinded, wounded warrior continued to saunter on, obvious wounds on her body marking her as an offensive claymore. One who had... seen battle before. Unlike most claymore, she didn't carry her claymore straight across her back. She leaned it to the left, almost to compensate for missing weight on that side, a stub of an arm taken as a prize in battle.

It wasn't til halfway across that she realized that Liz had been talking the entire time. Anabelle cracked a smile at herself. How funny that Anabelle could hear the movement of every bit of their clothes, the brushing of the Flora, yet miss an entire conversation? She clued in back at the mention of the claymores.

"Oh, yes, I agree, Mallory's quite the looker." Anabelle raised one eyebrow sarcastically. "Well, you might never have heard of Anabelle, but there's this other person I think you should be weary of. A 'Liz' that I've heard of several times, but I've never seen them in my life!

As far of odds of us dying, we could. We could. There are nightmares out there... but a group of Yoma is just a group of Yoma. No one strong needs fodder. A real nightmare would ....- " Anabelle trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Still, in the distance, they could hear more voices, a very nervous one. Asteria? She was talking to someone. Probably the person they were to meet, which would make it Susie.

Anabelle lips gingerly started to widen in a smile, a look on mischief on her face, looking at Liz as a prelude to destruction, daring her to try and stop her.

"So, Liz, why is it you keep calling her Suzie the Skunk? You've been doing it all journey. That seems a little bit rude to me. We all smell of Yoma. Unless there's something else you could be referring to. You'd have to explain it to me. All these cute nicknames you have for them. I think you kept referring to one of them as 'the high ranking puppy'. I'll try to keep you away from Mallory when I see her, you've been gushing about her the entire trip, why, I think you might have a crush. Warrior relationships are a complicated thing."

Anabelle continued to walk, pretending to be completely unaware as the blind warrior made her way right up to the other two, knowing full well she was completely in earshot the entire time.

"Oh! Hey, I missed you there. Which warriors are you? Sorry, I have a few... difficulties that have moved me down the ranks." She gave a polite nod to both, half drawing her blade to show the symbol on it, Anabelle's own crest to identify herself. "I'm Rank #40, Anabelle."

 

[GizmoJr]

Mallory the Merciful​

“Any questions, Mallory?” The portly man garbed in black asked the lithe woman who’s silhouette against the flickering campfire seemed almost too frail for the armor that adorned it and the large claymore strapped to it’s back. The woman in question, Mallory, simply shook her head with a frown on her lips.

“No. Sending so many of us to a single village only means one thing.” The statement was said with a grim understanding and Mallory’s head dipped for a moment. Her eyes closed as she silently prayed for the poor souls who had their lives cut short, hopefully they were resting in peace now.

After the moment of silence the lone woman raised her head back to where her handler was once standing but he was already gone. A quick moment of observation revealed the sound of footsteps leading away from the small side road the pair had met at. ‘He is surprisingly light footed for such a well fed man.’ Mallory thought to herself with a fond smile to herself.

She liked to believe the man had some fond feelings for herself as well, whether or not it was true was something she didn’t ponder upon. With that she began her lonely trek to an even lonelier village that was once home to loving families.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some days later...

“I love the morning after a rain.” The lone warrior said out loud to herself as she breathed in the moisture laden air from the showers the night before. Mallory would have loved the chance to take in her surroundings and enjoy the overcast weather, savor the slight chill in the air causing the slightest of shivers to run through her, to further indulge in these little moments of humanity that she clung to as much as she could. Reminders that she wasn’t a monster like those outside the Organization thought she was, no matter how hard she tried to convince them she wasn’t.

A sigh escaped Mallory's lips as she quickly ruined her own mood with that cruel reminder. “I knew what I was doing when I chose this path.” The woman said to herself as she attempted to steel her resolve once again. It was during her own internal attempts at self motivation that she finally spotted the designated meeting location and the village just beyond it. She noticed at least four others already there conversing with one another, or at least gathered waiting for the rest of their company. The woman put a bit more energy into her steps and composed herself once again, it was time to get to work she supposed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

As Mallory drew close she shared a smile with the group of fellow warriors and even offered a personal wave to each one of them before stopping before the group of them a respectable distance.

“Greeting’s, I am Mallory rank #34, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” Mallory offered a small head bow to the group before allowing herself to properly take in all of them upon raising her head.

Her silver eyes were naturally drawn to the woman who had suffered grievous injuries and never had the chance to properly heal. Mallory attempted to keep her emotions from splaying across her face but found it difficult and a small amount of concern did cross her features. She quickly glanced away and scolded herself mentally, no warrior wished to be pitied. She’d heard tales of the Empty warrior, Annabelle. She’d heard that she was a formidable fighter despite her wounds, that was something that could and should be respected.

Mallory’s eyes swiftly glided over to the tall and armored woman. The woman seemed quite powerful and carried herself with confidence. Her stature and armored outfit matched the description she’d been given for ‘Easy Liz’. Not wishing to repeat the mistake from before she moved her gaze to the final two in the group.

There was a petite young woman whose physical features quickly allowed Mallory to deduce her identity. After all, there were only so many Claymore’s with such a distinctive appearance as the ‘Cutie Claymore’ herself. Mallory’s eyes softened as she couldn’t help but agree with the nickname bestowed upon Asteria. Though Mallory also knew that Asteria’s looks were deceptive as she was a few ranks above her own.

The final warrior that was resting upon a boulder and seemed to be the center of attention when Mallory had arrived. Her most distinctive trait being the black locks that fell before her youthful face. The young woman easily rivaled Asteria in the appearance of youth but lacked the more subtle traits that deemed Astera a ‘cutie’. That must have been Susie, but Mallory hadn’t heard much else about her from her handler. ‘I wonder if she dyed her hair intentionally or something else was responsible for the streak in her hair.’

An interesting group so far, Mallory wondered if the remaining members would arrive soon. The only thing to do was await their arrival and perhaps get to know her fellow warriors a bit better in the meantime.

 

[Petroshka]

​

• The Night in Solitude
• Morning Mists
• Sisters

• 
  The sound of rainfall was dominate in Evangelines ears with only the crackle of her campfire and the boiling of water keeping her from falling asleep, she looked up at her cloak that was suspended just above with the help of some rope and branches keeping her little area dry enough to keep warm. With her back on a tree she stared into the fire thinking on her most recent assignment, she had not seen another claymore in a very long time ever since her transformation and wondered what her sisters would think of her. Taking off her headband she looked at it longingly, perhaps she shouldn't wear it during the meeting tomorrow, it was not in character for the usual claymore to hold on to something like this and playing to the stereotype she found worked better than trying to break it. People liked predictability and if you played around with that people would get rather untrusting of you, although she didn't know whether or not that was the case of it being true or not. In the dry and cold north the flower was kept preserved rather well but here where it is more humid she could tell it was starting to degrade rather rapidly, with a slight frown she pondered if she should replace it or not in the future.
  
  Setting it aside she picked the pot of boiling water out of the camp fire and poured it into a cup before putting it aside on a bed of dry wood allowing it to cool down to later be stored in her previsions. She looked at her sword, the very thing that she and her sisters were named after, a large sharpened hunk of metal that was rather thin at the hilt. "i wonder if we are permitted to customize it" she thought out loud, thinking that if she could she would use any spare currency to get a new hilt to look like the amulet that rested on her chest. With a slight chuckle at the silly notion she shook the thought away. Using the cup to warm her hands she looked out in the dark beyond the light of her fire, nothing. Not a glimpse of light nor the smell of Yoma, Eva was truly alone at this very moment. Grasping her amulet of the goddess and uttering a prayer beneath her breath she drank the warm water as was her habit developed after years in the cold to keep herself warm, in mind and body.
  
  
  ​
• 
  The morning was fraught with heavy mist in the woods that Eva had settled in, luckily the rain had stopped completely and now all there was was silence save for the occasional drop of dew. Getting on her knees she looked up into the white mist above her, palms placed together she started praying to the goddess of Chevertia, her voice clear without a echo to be heard. Picking her things up and drying out her cloak that was her makeshift roof, she started on her trek to her destination. With visibility low she looked to the marking on a tree she made to keep her from being directionless, with a firm grasp on north south east and west she made her way through the white. As she did it got lighter and lighter, she felt eyes on her, though no malicious intent behind them, woodland creatures. She pondered to herself if that is what humans saw the claymores and yoma as, predators ready to pounce at them at any moments notice. Holding her hands out infront of her she looked at herself she certainly looked human, but then she remembered the yoma that hid themselves as humans as well. "thats right" she was one of them now.
  
  Shaking her head she looked ahead, there was no point in thinking about it, it would only cloud her judgement. stumbling upon clear ground that was just mud at this point she looked up and down it. "ah, a path." Following it she thought to herself that she was getting closer and closer to her destination, and so started to think about it more, perhaps even over thinking it. The idea that so many claymores are gathering to this one place was unsettling, one claymore was usually enough to deal with one or two. She herself had only had to deal with lone Yoma, so multiple would prove a new experience for her, and a deadly one at that. Hopefully her fellow sisters in arms had the means to deal with such threat, Eva had no yoma 'power' that she had heard other claymores possessed that was beyond her speed and strength. She had only really survived by improvising and tricking her adversaries.
  
  "Ah, a clearing!" she mumbled to herself the mist departed as she exited the forest to a vast open plain, she was greeted with the cold but not biting wind and the sunrays from where the clouds of yesterday occasionally broke. wide eyed at the sight Eva almost forgot about why she was there, and continued forward. It wasnt long until she heard the echos of a persons voice bouncing across the plains, unintelligible but music to Evas ears. It caused a brief moment of energy to kick into her legs, moving forward faster, eagar to see her sisters. But then the smell of blood and yoma came across her, and she slowed down. That was right, she was here to exterminate yoma, not convene with her sisters. Breathing in a prayer, she steeled herself, laxing her face into the emotionless warriors claymores are known to be.
  
  
  
  ​
• 
  Walking with a steady stride making sure not get too bogged down by the mud Eva saw the gathering of her fellow silver eyed witches, she observed them from afar while walking ever closer. It was a rather odd assortment from what she could make out. An exceptionally small and short one, another didnt even have an arm and what she could tell was heavily scarred, a particularly heavily armored one and another that seemed so pretty that she stood out more so than the petite one as being out of place. Then of course there was the one that sat ontop the boulder, she had one singular striking feature that was more odd than anything. Eva was rather astonished at the variety of everyone's appearance though kept that to herself, she had half expected her sisters to look more or less the same, perhaps different hair styles, not sure whether or not to be worried by this fact she continued to make her way to them.
  
  As she was close enough to everyone she placed a palm onto her chest and closed her eyes, a universal greeting though in her mind was too neutral to show any personality. "Greetings, i am Evangeline Bracht. 32nd. You may call me Eva if you would like." Opening her eyes she hopped that her greeting was satisfactory, and now closer to her sisters she inspected them with a quick glance. The child-like one seemed frail, what could have happened to her for the transformation to leave her like that? No matter, she was a claymore which meant appearances had cavats to them, Eva was sure that she would prove to be a capable warrior if not that only means she would have to watch her. The next one that caught Eva's attention was the single armed warrior, was she blind? Surely the organization had the means to repair such damage? But it would seem not, although the aspect of such scars would mean she was a veteran, perhaps her knowledge and experience would prove invaluable.
  
  The next is the heavily armored sister, a wonder how she could operate in the muddy terrain, but eva supposed that terrain wouldnt prove too much of a difficulty for a strong claymore, didnt stop her from pittying the idea of marching through the mud in them though. The next is the ghostly figure, if Eva hadn't known any better she would have assumed she was a noble in a well off city, how did such a woman fall to such lengths to become a claymore eva wondered, or perhaps she chose the life. Lastly was the one on the boulder, with one distinguishing feature that the rest of her fellows lacked, a strand of black hair, seeing as she stood above the rest eva could surmise that this was the leader. "is this all?" she looked upon her fellow sisters in arms, she would show admiration but she felt it would not be appropriate.
  
  
  ​

​

 

[Suma]

Arina #35
​

"At this rate you're traveling they'll have cleared the city by the time you get there number 35."

The thinly man dressed in all black is sat in front of the fire that Arina was heading towards.

"Come, sit I have another job for you."

Arina glares with her good eye at the individual an act of defiance that the man has seen many times before. He smirks and relaxes a little bit. Not addressing the little act of defiance Arina decided to show.

"Well... I'll get straight to it a town needs to be cleared. You and a number of other claymore have bee--"

He is interrupted by a cold and piercing female voice. Her words laced with a sharp inflection.

"You promised me that I didn't have to work with claymores."

The man frowns. "I never promised you anything number 35, just that I would try and honor your wishes. You track record recently has been one of the--"

There is a loud thunk interrupting the man's train of thought as a claymore is impaled into the ground next to him. With the impact there is a slight reaction as the man flinches ever so slightly.

Arina then walks forward ever so slowly, bends down beside the blade in the ground and holds up the head of a snake. As the man stands up from his position in front of the the fire, Arina's towering imposing figure standing over him like a predator looking at prey.

"You have to be more aware, I will not be around to protect you in times where there are two snakes instead of one."

The man shakes his head a little and chuckles.

"Thank you for your understanding and consideration."

There is no response.

"Now as I was saying the mission will be you and a group of claymores clearing out a town that was supposedly ravaged by Yoma. The journey is around-"

As the man clad in black turned around the claymore was already gone. A bag of animal fecal matter left in her wake.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The sun was high in the sky as the sound of distant chatter could be heard. Voices young and old discussing and introducing themselves. The energy was professional but there was an underlying tone of comradery that they all shared. In the midst of waiting for the last arrival to join their merry band a young smaller than average dog happens to be sniffing around the bushes nearby. Seemingly checking out the area and gives a small yelp of surprise as an iron clad gauntlet comes down and picks them up. Arina brings the dog up to her face as the dog licks her nose excitedly.

The gold tint in Arina's eyes flickers ever so faintly as she begins mumbling to the dog in she's carrying by the scruff.

"Didn't you want to introduce yourself first little one?"

The dog just yaps excitedly in response and clambers up Arina's torso into their little pouch prepared for them.

With a small sigh Arina tightens the straps in the harness for this dog, undos her ponytail letting the chaotic mess of Arina's curls free. Covering the scarred side of her face with her hair, she walks into the clearing, staying just about within earshot of the other claymore.

She takes note of the individuals who have already arrived. Silver women who could pass as sisters. Of course history was repeating itself.

"Arina. Number 35."

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Susie slid down from the boulder, her eyebrow twitching or a moment at the obnoxious skunk nickname. It was one of the worst she'd ever been given. Worse than the possum one! It wasn't important though, she'd outlive the name. Just as she touched the ground she spoke. "My name is Susie, and I am number 47." She drew her sword, holding it out in front of her. "Don't think that means I'm weak though, I've been around longer than all of you..." She casted glances at the two claymore with prominent scarring before continuing. "...Even you two." There was a mischievous look on her face as she said this, but it quickly faded, returning to her usual unbothered expression. To change the subject, Susie quickly turned to Asteria.

"Ok fearless leader. What's the plan?" She asked, leaning back against the boulder. In reality Susie didn't care what the plan was. In the end the whole thing would be reduced to a yoma slaughter.

In the distance, a human head peered out from just inside the village. It was a man with short brown hair and an angry look on his face. He stepped out into the open, now in the middle of the entrance to the village. His mouth moved as if he spoke, but it was inaudible from this distance. A few moments after he spoke however, two more faces peered over the wall from the village entrance, watching the group of claymore. The man's face slowly turned to a grin. He stared out at the group, waiting for them to move.

 

[Orikanyo]

"Oi, you callin me old? Why I oughta give yea a spank fer that yea- Oh!" Ah, a person, peering at the from over the way.

If she remembered, theee was reportedly nobody left in the village, so, it stands to recon, this was in fact one of the Yoma.

"Aaah shoot, Ana looks like yea gave us away! I thought we agreed yea were the look out?" The woman laughed, yet again, it seemed like she was always doing so. "Alrighty everyone! I ain't usually workin' with so many, but ya'll play nicely and don't get in each others way!

Play nicely ladies!

And remember!

If theres one thing you can do today, make it through okay!" She spoke as if she had tehersed and said this a thousand times... It even ended with a rhymn...

It would've been abit wholesome of she wasn't talking about wholesale slaughter of a village full of yoma... And... Wait she was lifting up a large rock, tossing it up and down once to tets the weight and....

With a heavy throw, she tossed the large boulder straight at the yoma at the gate. "Remember to have fun!!!!"

 

[Ganryu]

~Anabelle, the Empty~​

Anabelle gave a faint smile as everyone introduced themselves, most of them fairly formally it seemed. She could feel them staring at her, though Anabelle, frankly, wasn't named 'the Empty' for nothing. Her fuck garden was barren, having none to give. She was either useful, or she wasn't. If she was, she did her job. If she wasn't, her job would do her in. It was as simple as that.

"Nice to meet you all, Asteria, Mallory, Evangeline, Arina and Susie. I hope we all get along, it'd be nice to have to remember ALL your names, and you mine by the end of this. Maybe we can do something fun at the end of this, like skip rocks across a pond. Liz is such a bad sport about it."

As Liz commented on her new status as lookout, Anabelle gave a clueless look, before putting her good hand over her eyes and leaning forward. "Well, as lookout, I don't see anything." A moment later, a large rock flew though the air like a missile. Anabelle pretended not to notice it either.

She sauntered forward to the village walls, with an almost deliberate step, not slow, but almost as if every foot step had been planned. Her ears seemed to almost wiggle as she walked, taking a deep breath as a look of concentration filled her face. She took a few more steps in such a stance, before suddenly waving her bad arm at the guards on the village entrance.

"Why, hello there! Do you guys know another way in? The entrance seems to be blocked by a rock, and we have some important business inside."

As she yelled, she lowered herself into a squat, before suddenly leaping on the village gate, standing just outside most Yoma's sweeping range. She landed on the same level as the two guards, having listened to their footsteps to get a grasp of where was safe, and slowly let her sword on her back bump against the wall, feeling it out. Her smile never wavered as she bowed politely. "We hear there's a yoma problem here. We were asked generously to see if we couldn't handle the task of wiping out the yoma. ♪Every. Single. One.♪ Do you know who we could talk to to get a head count?"

Something, about the size of a boulder, told her their chance of stealthily rushing the village wall was gone.

 

[Suma]

"She's a strong one..." Arina comments to herself as she watches one of her silver eyed sisters lift up a boulder and throw it towards the village.

With the words "Remember to have fun!" ringing in her ears she begins to think about the last time she was told to have fun. For the first time in a while Arina smirks to herself and her little friend who is now watching everything intently. A glimmer of golden yellow begins to sparkle in her eyes ever so slighty as she grips her blade tightly as there is the sound of metal scratching on metal ash she begins to move forward building up momentum and then throwing her claymore like a professional spear thrower would at one of the figures on the wall. She takes a step back watching the blade fly as the ringing of the boulder crashing into the gate rings in the air. Whether or not the unfortunate Yoma is currently aware of a claymore being hurled at them at a deadly velocity.

After a moment or two the smile fades. "Shit... now I have to get my claymore."

She turns to anyone who hasn't acted yet. "Well... have fun I guess..."

She then would proceed to take the quickest route to the village wall to see if her claymore stopped where she wanted it to.

 

[MocaPoka]

Number 31: Asteria Tahden

​

Asteria’s large silver eyes dart to-and-fro from her gathering sisters’ in muted happiness and concealed excitement. She had not seen so many of her own kind since training, and those days had been dark and hard. She had never truly had the chance to connect with any of her fellow trainee Warriors; the crushing weight of trying to become something worthy had occupied all of her soul and strength back then. Friendships, sisterhood, and connection hadn’t been a factor or allowance for her then. But now things were different. She was stronger and mostly confident in her own existence now.

“High ranking puppy?” Asteria tilted her head and whispered in confusion at Anabelle’s words.

She wasn’t in tune with the nicknames, rumors and reputations of her Sisters’. Not for lack of interest, but simply because her demur attitude and behavior over the years had left her with few connections to pull news and rumors from. Her own handler was nearly as silent as she was as well; so besides orders, she heard little from him. Perhaps she would try to change her isolation now? Everyone currently seemed to know much more about everyone else than she did. Clearly it was a failure and overlooked part of her life.

Number 34 and 32 appeared; Mallory and Evangeline respectively. Both were names and numbers even she had heard of by reputation. They were perhaps the most “respectable” of this gathering and Asteria couldn't help looking up at both of the taller figures with a fair level of respect and admiration despite the fact that they were technically not as highly valued in the Organization as she herself was for whatever reason. She personally found it hard to believe that she was actually stronger than either of them.

The shortest Warrior was taken from her thoughts at Susie’s words and ranking. She was the lowest ranked Warrior, which meant she was the weakest in all of the Organization. Perhaps even more shocking than that, Asteria was the highest ranked member. Which meant, by the Organization’s standards and rules, she was the strongest Warrior here and in charge. Never had she thought such a thing would ever happen.

Before she could even begin to formulate a plan a few of the other Warriors took off and decided that action was better than planning. A boulder thrown by number 39 suddenly at the village had Asteria’s jaw drop in dumbfoundment. Number 40, the blind and one armed Warrior rushed to back up the stupidity of number 39 and left Asteria to wonder how in the world either of the two had survived a single mission before. Number 35 was not far behind to join in.

“Number 32 and 34; flank the East side of the village, myself and number 47 will flank the West!” Asteria order in voice that surprised herself with its volume and anger.

 

[GizmoJr]

Mallory The Merciful​

It would only be moments before the rest of their armor clad group arrived. Following Mallory’s own arrival was the 32nd amongst them, Evangeline Bracht. Mallory offered her a smile and wave as she introduced herself to the rest of their sisters. It was only natural that her sisters eyes would dart around the present company and make their assessments, though it did make her wonder what they all thought of one another so far. They all had their own reputations, whether or not it preceded them mattered little, each Claymore had some story to tell.

In response to Eva’s question, Mallory gave a small shake of her head. Her handler had told her to expect at least one other warrior. Though it wasn’t much longer that their final member walked towards the group carrying a surprising addition to their band. A small dog was carried securely in a custom harness that was attached to Arina’s armor. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the adorable creature and she had the urge to reach forward and pet the animal. However she restrained herself and paid attention to Arina, who she realized had covered half her face with her own hair. It wasn’t hard to imagine why one would choose to do so and Mallory made sure to avert her eyes from scrutinizing Arina’s hidden features, it would be rude to do so.

With Arina’s arrival and introduction, the entire contingent of Claymores had finally arrived. As if to punctuate this occasion Susie decided to introduce herself in case someone was unaware of the party's full composition. Mallory was surprised to hear that Susie was ranked 47th amongst them but didn’t let it show on her face, it didn’t truly matter to her. It just meant that she’d have to keep an eye out for Susie. This thought was quickly admonished by Susie herself and Mallory let out a small cough behind her hand as she looked away as if to hide the fact that she was already making assumptions in her thoughts.

This led to the inevitable realization that amongst all of these warriors, it was the ‘Cutie Claymore’ that held the highest rank among them. Truly the living epitome of never judging a warrior’s strength by their physical appearance.

It appeared that Susie’s comment didn’t go over well with Elizabeth before her attention was quickly drawn to their assignment. Mallory followed her gaze and found the three humans who were observing them from the entrance of their settlement. Of course with the report they’d received there weren’t any humans left in that cozy abode any longer. Mallory wouldn’t be able to tell until she was much closer but even she knew better, those were pitiful Yoma.

A whole town of Yoma with no source of easing their own insatiable hunger. Did they prey upon one another if they didn’t attract enough humans? What would cause so many of them to congregate? Did they realize their own self destructive natures or were they so lost in their own desires? Yoma had self preservation instincts, it was evident in the ones who attempted to hide and escape when they had no chance of surviving her blade. So why draw so much attention by replacing an entire town's population?

A look of melancholy soon replaced the warm smile that once adorned Mallory’s face. It seems there would be no time for pleasantries beyond the quick exchanges between a few of the women. The mood shift was punctuated by Elizabeth’s tossing of a large boulder at the expectant Yoma. Mallory wished she could feel as easy going about this as Elizabeth or as uncaring as Annabelle, but she couldn’t understand how one could enjoy this. She knew of several Claymore that reveled in the violence against Yoma, she was never one of them.

Despite the request for a plan from Asteria by Susie, it seemed both Annabelle and Elizabeth had their own definitions of teamwork. Especially since Annabelle was already rushing the village and their quarry. Arina immediately followed in their example and used her own Claymore as a javelin of sorts before offering her own well wishes and rushing towards the village.

This chaotic blitz did little to sow confidence in Mallory as her hopes of an organized routing of this Yoma den quickly dissipated. Her frown only deepened as concern began to seep into her eyes, hopefully they knew what they were doing. They were gathered for a reason and rushing off was only to the benefit of the Yoma who were now expecting them.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when their leader, Asteria, finally managed to give out some semblance of a plan. Even as bare as it was it at least allowed Mallory to have an idea of where her fellow warriors would be and what to expect going in. A simple strategy but it was all they had time for considering their self appointed vanguard had launched their attack so suddenly.

Mallory nodded her head with, “Yes, Asteria.” She drew her Claymore, turned to lock eyes with Eva in a silent form of confirmation of orders, and promptly dashed off to the Easternmost point of the village as quickly as she could.

The woman kept an eye on the front gate as best she could until she rounded too far around the village for it to easily be in her view. ‘They’ll be fine, several of them showed immense strength.’ Mallory thought to herself in assurance.

Upon arriving at the eastern entrance to the village, Mallory stopped to await her partner. When the pair were finally reunited she’d simply stand ready to follow her superior's lead. “I’ll follow after you, Eva. I can’t sense Yoma very well so I’d do better as your rear guard.” Mallory realized she was in a way giving orders and quickly amended her statement. “If you believe that’s best, that is.” Mallory felt that statement only made it worse and decided to remain silent and focus on covering Eva’s back.

 

[Petroshka]

Evageline Bracht​

Eva stared at her fellow sisters awaiting their answers but none came save for the fragile one, giving a slight smile for the gesture Eva was about to speak up once again however she was interrupted as the 7th among us arrived. Turning around she learned that the last ones rank and name, although what caught Eva's attention the most wasn't her scarred and worn looks but rather the canine that latched onto her. It was a rather strange sight to see such a large and stoic figure to have a small dog, let alone a claymore, at least that is from what she had heard. Right after Arina introduced herself, the striped one introduced herself as Suise, rather rudely too. Her eyes widened as her rank was revealed, being the highest. That wasnt something that Eva had expected, which would mean... the one in charge was the almost child like one?

She was about to question the development of the situation, appointing a leader rather than going with the lowest ranked being a leader, forming a plan with the others on how best to tackle the situation. But right as she opened her mouth, three of the sisters were already assaulting the town without warning, mouthing something about having fun. Slack-jawed Eva watched them in disbelief, seriously questioning why she had ended up here with these girls, however she was quickly readjusted into focus as the child spoke her commands. Basic, but given the situation she supposed it was the best plan that anyone could come up with.

A nod later Eva dropped her backpack full of supplies she used to survive in the wilderness and before it hit the ground she was gone, running full speed with 34, who proved to be just ever so faster than herself. She didnt pay too much attention to what was happening by the front gate as her focus was upon the east side. Catching up to 34 and listening to what she had to say Eva simply nodded, although she felt a small hint of discomfort on what 34 said afterward, but Eva decided this was no time to discuss that and burst forward into the village. Grabbing her claymore she readied it should any Yoma attempt to ambush her and her comrade with a defensive stance just in case.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

The yoma at the gate’s face quickly became one of shock. Tumbing backwards and falling on his behind just in time for thr boulder to land directly on him, splattering him into a brand new stain in the ground. The other two people let out frightened gasps at the sight of the sudden crushing but were quick to look on angrily at the oncoming claymore. One transformed into its true yoma form. His skin stretched and darkened into a dark dull green, hardening into something resembling scales. It screeched loudly before leaping down from the gate and charging at Liz ready to slash at her. The other yoma was about to transform when Annabelle suddenly landed before it. It paused for a moment, confused. The girl was far away only a couple moments ago. But he wuickly regained his wits, and drew back to swing his claws.

A large hunk of metal soared directly into his side, sending him flying off the village gate and pinned to the side of a tree below. The yoma yelled and screeched in pain as it tried to free itself.

——————————

The entrance Mallory and Eva came upon was a less traveled one. It’s gate was left half open, and various opened barrels and crates were scattered back there. There, they would be able to see another yoma climbing up the side of a building and sliding in an open window. Closer inspection would reveal that almost every house and structure in this town had its windows open. Yoma presences could likely be felt in various buildings as well.

There was a large patch loose dirt just inside the entrance as well, but before one would be able to approach it, a large claw came crashing down from above. A large gray yoma with a spiky skull and sandpapery skin landed before them. “Where do you all think you’re going?” It asked in a low voice. It suddenly lunged forward, throwing its shoulder at Mallory with surprising speed for a yoma. “You lot don’t belong here.”

——————————

Susie sighed. She had hopes that this would be a well organized rout, but instead they were running headfirst into lion’s den. She supposed it didn’t matter if everyone pulled their own weight.

Putting a little pep in her step, Susie hurried after Asteria. “We goin’ in loud or quiet?” Susie asked her as they came upon the third and final entrance into the village. There, they found the gate wide open, and a woman crying on the ground, just inside the village in an open area surrounded by various buildings.

The woman was middle aged, and had various bruise about her face. She was curled up in a ball bawling her eyes out but she appeared to be the only one around at first glance.

“I’ll go help her, watch my back!” Susie said, running in towards the woman. Without hesitating, the odd Claymore ran in through the gates, down the dirt road onto a She knelt down next to her without issue. “You need to get off the streets miss, there are yoma about ya know!”

The dirt Susie knelt in was dark and soft, unlike the lighter hard ground around her. It was like someone had dug up a bush there re

The woman tried to speak, but she kept stuttering on her words, “B-b-b … The.. The Whi-“

The words weren’t forming, and it was completely silent in this area of the village.

 

[Ganryu]

Anabelle noted as the other warriors broke off, a cohesive battle plan it felt like. It meant she was covered for playing stupid for a little while longer.

"Three..." The boulder splattered the first one. Anabelle's heightened senses could hear bones grind to dust, and smell offal in the open. It was one helluva throw. Or, a regular throw from 'Easy Liz', who never took 'skipping rocks' easy.

"Two..." She whispered after landing next to the two, with a faux smile. One went to attack her, caught off guard for a moment by her innane ramblings, before it suddenly found itself impaled. That was the fun thing about drawing attention to yourself, it meant people didn't pay attention to other's. Anabelle was already half dead, who better to take a distraction role?

"One and a half..."

One charged Liz. Anabelle blinked despite being blind. "I'm going to go ahead and count that as down, Liz is terrible with hugs. Which means one half..."

She slowly sauntered towards the tree, not in any hurry as she felt the yoki aura of the yoma infront of her.

"Terribly sorry about that. We just can't get any good directions here! Hardest thing too. Do you know how scary it is to have a Yoma eating you alive? We're trying to save as many people from that as possible." She slowly reached forward, grabbing the hilt of Arina's claymore, but staying just out of claw reach, only gingerly touching it with her fingers.

"It's a terrifying experience. Imagine not having any yoki powers, being torn open, piece by piece, watching as you're eaten alive, unable to stop it, an urge to kill being the only reason for your death. How terrifying would that be...? Your guts in the open, the stench of living flesh being exposed, blood spilling out, sudden terror and realization it's your own, those aren't supposed to be on the outside. Now... Zero. Rip and tear.."

As Anabelle spoke the last bit, her aura shot through the claymore infront of her, like a chainsaw as it began to rip apart Yoki aura. No physical damage from it, but it kept latching onto the yoma's yoki, then pulling back like sandpaper, leaving nothing for the yoma to use for healing, or to extend it's claws. Anabelle gave an apologetic look while she suddenly wiggled the blade inside it back and forth against the tree, opening the wound as she twisted the blade inside with the movements, all the while stopping it from healing.

"That would be absolutely horrendous, wouldn't it? Also, wouldn't be the first time for me either. It really is one helluva way to die. Even if you live through it, you almost wish you hadn't."

She'd then yell out to Arina. "♪Yoohoo!♪ You're sword's over here. Stuck pretty tight, I think you're waaaay stronger than me, I can't pull it out. Also, did you know there's a guy on the end? I was just trying to ask for directions, and, 'pow', he was gone."

 

[Petroshka]

Evangeline Bracht​

Eva halted her advance at the sight of the yoma. "Elch, an ambush after all!" twirling around to me their adversary she made sure to plant her claymore into the muddy ground, using the momentum to drudge up a sizable amount of mud and tossing it at her opponents eyes. Ambush or not she wont be allowing a partner to go down, if they were both surrounded, all the better to eliminate it as fast as possible even if it was a sacrifical lamb, it will be a lamb we wont have to deal with! Dashing with the thrown mud ball, the yoma easily saw the projectile and simply swatted it away, but not before Eva had gotten underneath. Without hestitation she swung her claymore into the yoma, the sword piercing through its skin and a splash of purple blood filled her vision.

However the sword had not embeded itself far into the yoma. "Damned Edge alignment!" Jumping from her position she kicked into the sword for a killing blow, but the yoma had anticpated this and strafed backward, although the claymore indeed went further into the target, it was offset by this. The yoma swirled its body around at inhuman speeds and if it were any normal human Eva would have been eviserated by its claws, but she managed to put her claymore in the way of the swipe and she was simply swatted into a nearby building, breaking through the wooden door. It was painful but it wasn't anywhere near fatal and she got up to her feet easily.

 

[GizmoJr]

Mallory The Merciful
​

The duo rushed into the overrun village, the sounds of combat from the others ringing in the distance. Mallory stayed a small distance behind Eva, an eye out and her senses honed in hopes of detecting any hidden Yoma. As she thought she saw something off to the side she was blindsided by the sudden appearance of a Yoma landing in front of them, blocking the pair's advance.

It growled a menacing question before suddenly lunging at Mallory who couldn’t believe the speed it had suddenly displayed. She quickly spread her feet apart in preparation to attempt to deflect the blow with the flat of her blade as she doubted she’d be able to avoid it. However she was surprised when Eva managed to create a distraction and quickly land a counter blow. A clever use of their surroundings that Mallory hadn’t noticed immediately, the thought aside Mallory could see that the blow wasn’t nearly as deep as it needed to be and leapt into action.

The woman dashed forward to follow up only to see that Eva was sent flying into a building after successfully blocking the retaliatory blow of the Yoma. It was during this small window of opportunity that Mallory burst forward behind the Yoma and kept going, using her momentum to slash at the back of its calves, slicing them in half and debilitating it. She continued her path and curved around to the front of it in an attempt to draw it’s attention. Others would banter or shout in an attempt to intimidate but Mallory simply remained silent with a furrowed brow and frown upon her face, her blade held before her with purple blood dripping off of the blade where it bit into the Yoma.

 

[Orikanyo]

Easy Liz.

Easy Liz, with easy Biz.

Easy as one, a foot stamped into the dirt.

Two, a body tensed up with sword at the ready.

Three!

The Yoma had lept at the woman, but it was clear enough and telegraphed fully this yoma probably never fought anything but other humans. Clear as day, the sword cleaved downwards through the beast like a hot knife through butter, splitting it in two horizontally anf splaying it apart in two halves behind Liz. Who continued her march forwards.

"Come on!!! Come on come on come on! Come to me so I don't need to run to yea! Hahaha!" Some would call it bloodlust but in truth, this was just Liz.

Easy Liz.

Easy Biz.

Easy life.

She got into the gateway, peering all around with careful eyes and a big ol smile on her face, when another came from above, not noticing that she had her sword proped over her shoulders, a one handed slice cut the incoming yoma who did not learn from the last guy through the shoulder down the body and out the hip.

"Whew, thats two ladies!!! Don't let me beat yea!!!"