Lauren the Echidna Volume 2
Chapter 21
A Crystal's Dimmed Shine
It was again the winter time at the beach. Many people have left the beach a few minutes ago from their recent vacation time and it was now a new home for me and my new family: Elaine, Shadow, Tails, Sonic, Silver, Knuckles and now my new son, Frank, who I had named after my father. December was the month once again, Frank had already known how to walk since he was of course from an egg, he was indeed a special little boy. I smiled as I sat on the couch of the newly revised cabin on the beach, while Knuckles was sitting beside me, having an arm around my shoulders. Frank, or Frankie as we sometimes called him, was on the floor with my mother sitting on her back riding on her like a knight on a horse. My mother laughed as she playfully walked around on her hands and knees pretending to be a horse for him as Frank giggled and held onto her with everything he had. As they played, a short sounding screech was heard outside, but it was only heard by me. I glanced out the window and saw a figure standing out the window, that same figure that was in the shape of Mephiles' spines and glowing blood red eyes. My own eyes widened and I started to shiver, but as I did the figure suddenly disappeared. Knuckles looked over to me and blinked, trying to shake me a bit to get my attention. I finally snapped out of it and shook my head.
"Hey, you okay hun?" Knuckles asked holding his hand to me. I took his hand and nodded to him.
"Yeah...f-fine..."
"You sure?"
"Yes..."
"...Ok then." He laid a soft and long kiss on my cheek and I smiled to him, but then looked out the window again. I knew I saw Titan outside that window, but it was nothing to worry about now. But as we thought it was okay to relax, a loud sounding screech was heard from above the cabin. All of us covered our ears from the sonic wave and it was too loud for Frank, so he began to cry out and held onto my mother in fear, not knowing what it was. I rushed over to them and took Frank from my mother's hands and held him close. Frank buried his face into my shirt and chest, still crying from the loud sounds around us. My legs began to shake from the sound and I was close to collapsing with Frank in my hands, but Silver rushed to my side and held me up, while Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow ran outside to see what was going on. My eyes closed and I still held my child close to me. Silver offered to take Frank for me and I thanked him. Frank held his hands out to his so called "Uncle" Silver and he held onto him while I moved myself outside to see where the sound's origin was.
A sinister laugh filled the sky and my legs got shaky again. I turned my head and looked up at the sky, only to see that one abomination that plagued me for almost a year. Titan the Dark was floating high above us with nothing but a smirk on his face, showing the same kind of fangs that I would see in Scourge's mouth, but sharper and more piercing. My eyes grew wide again but they quickly narrowed to the point til they were almost closed. He had the nerve to come to my new home and interrupt my family's time together was a big mistake. My first action was the intent of my hardheaded self.
I jumped onto the top of the cabin and launched myself high in the air toward Titan. My fist had landed a solid but powerful punch across his jaw and his head only turned slightly, barely budging or twitching. He only turned his head back and stared me in the eyes. Next thing I knew I was slammed onto the ground on my back with so much force it got me almost knocked out for a good while, but I regained my consciousness after a few seconds. Shadow came to my side to help while Knuckles was fighting quite evenly with Titan. Titan smirked and rammed his fist into Knuckles' stomach, causing him to spit up a bit of blood and then kicked him back with great force into a nearby palm tree. I looked up and noticed that Shadow was helping, but also to see my husband slammed against the tree and about to be finished off.
I quickly slipped away from Shadow's grasp and rammed my elbow into the back of Titan's head, but once again he barely budged. Titan smirked more and shoved his own flaming elbow into my stomach, burning it slightly and making me stumble backwards a bit. I grunted in pain and growled at him, knowing he was about to attack me again. All I saw was his blood red eyes in front of my green eyes, staring at them with even more evil than before.
"Hmhmhm...I have no use for your pathetic planet anymore...Mobius is already ours...and you cannot do anything about it...but...there is one thing I must do here before I return home." Titan grabbed my neck and squeezed tightly, lifting me up in the air. Shadow and Knuckles attempted to punch and kick at him, while Sonic sped around sending windy blades from his kicks, but Titan was one step further. He used me as a shield for most of the attacks and the guys backed off. Titan finally dropped me after feeling a slight burning from his back, softly steam coming off of his body.
"You better get your hands off my daughter!!" It was my mother, using at least a few gallons of water from the ocean behind her on Titan. As I hit the ground, my eyes widened to see my mother standing in the shallowest part of the ocean shore, already creating crystals spears from the water. She had somehow gotten the power of ice over the years as well, but refused to use them until now. Elaine chucked a few spears at Titan, but he only swatted them away, most of them hitting inches from me. I yerked and attempted to throw a few pieces of metal that I created from the sandy ground, but he only moved slightly like a ghost and dodged them with ease. Titan's next move was not wasted. He flickered his firey body over to Elaine and she yerked, falling back into the water behind her, still trying to fend him off with water bullets and ice bullets. Nothing worked. I charged at Titan again and he only raised his hand to me, shooting a massive amount of flames into my face, but I blocked most of them with my arms held up and I was shot back into the sand.
Titan then turned to my mother again and smirked more. Elaine's eyes widened, knowing she couldn't do anything else to get him away.
"Hmhmhm...you're weakness is obvious...fire can dry out water and ice...you're mine." He smirked more. I looked up and noticed that Titan had my mother in his grasp slowly wrapping a firey rope around her, drying her out of her power. Steam was coming off of her and I couldn't do anything about it, except keep punching away as well as Knuckles and the others helping. There was some kind of odd barrier around them so we could not get through to save my mother. Titan laughed once more and tightened the rope, burning Elaine's waist and finally she shouted and fell to the ground. He then let her go and looked back to me with a definite evil smirk, almost like a psycho smirk, and chuckled.
"Well well well...looks like your mother couldn't take the heat, girl...AHAHAHA!!" He laughed even more and finally disappeared in a red flaming swirl, sending ashes and sparks of fire around him, leaving behind few patches of fire burning around us. My eyes widened more,
"MAMA!" I rushed to her side and placed my hand underneath her head to lift her up. Her eyes were closed for the moment but suddenly started to open slightly. My own eyes blinked and I tried to help her up, but she put a hand on my cheek, wanting me to stop. She knew her time in this world was overwith, but I didn't want that to happen.
"Mama? Mama!! No, don't leave me yet! MOM!" Tears were already dropping to the ground like a stream, cleary not wanting my mother to leave me behind. She looked to me and her frown turned to a smile. With barely any effort, she reached for a ring on her finger and took the blue jewel that was on her forehead and handed it to me. I blinked and took them both, realizing it was the jewel she used for controlling water and ice. I looked back to her after setting the objects down and cried more.
"Mom, p-please...d-don't leave...I don't..w-want you to!!" I cried more and she smiled at me, her eyes slowly closing and drifting off into a long deserved dream. Her hand finally dropped onto her chest and she had finally left the world. My eyes closed halfway and tears were still streaming down my cheeks, still shouting the name of the one who brought me into this world. Knuckles came up to me and attempted to hug, but I pulled away and held my mother's body close to me, sobbing.
"M-Mama...Mama no...please...I can't..." I continued to sob, holding her body close to me, but Knuckles put a hand on my shoulder, then wrapping his arm around me. I softly set my mother down and grasped Knuckles in a tight hug, not wanting to let him go. Sonic's ears had dropped slightly and Shadow was only looking away with his eyes closed. Silver had been looking out the window the whole time with Tails, and Frank's eyes blinked, not understanding what was going on. He could only see his grandmother's body on the ground. He tried to speak, but could only still speak small words,
"Gamma! Gamma gamma!" Which was his way of shouting "grandma" and wanting to go to his grandma. Silver blinked and tried to hold him from squirming around.
"Hey, easy, whoa! I don't think you should go out there..." Said Silver with a worried look on his face. Frank looked to him and tilted his head. Silver's ears lowered and then he looked to Tails, who's expression said it all. Elaine wasn't coming back at all.
I continued to cry on Knuckles' chest and he held me closer than before, rubbing my back slowly and shushing me to get me to calm down. Shadow looked to Sonic and nodded. Shadow walked up to us and picked up my mother's singed body, hoping to be careful as he did so. Sonic walked off as well as Shadow did, me looking up to see that they were taking her away. My eyes widened and I shouted,
"NO! SHADOW! COME BACK HERE WITH HER!" Knuckles then held me back, knowing that I was going out of control again, not wanting to leave my mother's side. Knuckles held onto me while I struggled and Shadow only looked back with his eyes narrowed.
"Lauren! There is nothing you can do anymore!" He growled slightly as he kept walking.
This was one battle I couldn't win alone. If I were to defeat Titan, I would need as much help as I could get...