((ok, so maybe I'm a couple days late. Whatever. Gapth. I know you all wonder why I changed scenes right before Cerebus opened the door. Newsflash- I STILL don't know what's in there. A brick wall for all I know. I have no clue what Espio, Kai and Poe are going to do or where they're going. I have, however, already picked out a name for Karpa's baby. Go figure. Anywhey, I shall hammer this one out as I see fit and things will happen as they please. Good thing I have my characters to follow... if I didn't give any authority to them, I might not have a good story at all...))

Shadow: glad to know we still have a say in things.

Sonic: which is WHY there will be no yaoi... especially between myself and... And... and THAT -pointing at Shadow-

Sh: -pouts- I had my hopes. WAIT! STOP MAKING ME SAY THINGS! -takes a board with nails and cracks it over her head-

FWACK!

A: x.x ... ow...my head...oooo... pretty colors!... -falls over from blood loss-

Sn: BOOYA! The author's dead! We now rule the fic!

Knuckles: I hereby claim this fic in the name of grapes. -sticks a flag in author's corpse, proudly displaying a picture of grapes.-

: like Kenny, I will be back next episode. Never fear. I don't own Sonic although the characters now own my fic... so God be with us.:

Chapter 13- Where Do We Go From Here?

My breath caught in my throat as the door slowly opened in front of me...

"Tarsa! Love, come in!" my mother beckoned. I obeyed, looking around. The room was half-lit with black and gold-trimmed walls. Display cases lined the walls and filled the center of the room in an octagonal circle. In the center of these was a larger case containing a single fluorescent feather. My mother, or Mum as she liked to be called, was standing next to this circle of cases, beaming happily at me through her ruby red eyes. She wore an elegant white pantsuit, decorated with blue gems in a floral pattern, and sapphire-studded chains draped from her long tendrils. Man, she looked great for her age. I hoped I'd at least gotten that gene from her...

Dad smiled at me, closing the door behind him. He opened his arms, looking around at the cases. "These are pieces of our history, our ancestor's way of life. Many of these relics date back to when we believe the Lumin was discovered." He began.

"The oldest of these," continued Mum, "is this." She looked to the large feather.

Confused, I stepped up to it, taking a closer look. "What's it made out of?"

"That's the thing... no one was ever able to figure out exactly what it's made from. It seems organic... but it lacks all organic properties. Until now, the only clues we had were the hieroglyphs..." he gestured for me to follow him. He opened another door at the back of the room, and we stepped into a larger one, walls painted red.

"These are pieces of the ruins at Ostax, just northeast of here across the bay."

I looked around in awe at the huge chunks of wall, statues of ancient gods, and the large elaborate paintings and chiseled hieroglyphs.

One depiction caught my eye. Three golden echidnas bowed low before a large white one, probably set with alabaster. She wore robes in fine silver which was embedded into the rock, and there was a jetcrescent on her pristine chest. The eyes were slanted and outlined heavily,sapphire set for her irises. Her delicate hands seemed to reach out tenderly to the golden servants, and her tendrils seemed to float... What impressed me most about the goddess were the huge elaborate wings, detail etched in every mother-of -pearl feather.

"Lumina..." Her name slipped from my lips as realization hit. I placed a hand to my chest, feeling a familiar warmth...

(AN-I tried to draw this but it came out differently. I'll just say it's an entirely different depiction. Whatever. goto http// spaces. find "sketches." It's in there, don't remember where.)

"Yes, the ancients wrote that an oracle would help her take form so she could better serve her followers." He explained.

"Our line traces its roots to the very first oracle of the Lumin." Mum continued. "There was a prophecy that one day an oracle would be called forth from exile to defeat a newer evil."

I gasped. "Itshell! The whole battle... thing."

"Precisely. But there's more. The prophecy goes on to depict two oracles of completely different gems. Both powers shall exceed the combined power of the Lumin, and can only stay in check when a medium is established. Otherwise, the entities will involuntarily inhabit their oracles' bodies.

"Whoa... Glad that hasn't happened yet..." I said after a pause.

"We don't think it will be long." My mother warned.

"Okaaay..." I sat in a nearby chair, absorbing this news. "Now what?"

-o-

"SONIIIIIIIIIIC!" I screamed as I tried my best to fly after him.

He knew good and well he wasn't supposed to go into the basement! They all said so! Why won't he EVER listen?

"Comeon, Tails! I'll beat ya to the holding cell!"

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THAT IS!"

He stopped so abruptly that I crashed into him, landing hard on my backside after I bounced off him. I need to gain weight...

He was pointing at a sign on the wall. It said "HOLDING CELL" and an arrow pointing the direction we'd been heading. Ah, make me look stupid, why don't you? Dumbass...

"Let's turn back before we get in trouble." I advised.

"Nahh, that's ok. I'm fine." And he took off again.

DAMNIT! Someday when I'm big enough, I'm going to beat the living hell out of that hedgehog!

He halted again, looking through a window in a door.

"Hey, check this out!" he said, pointing inside.

I peeked in a little warily. There was a woman... Looked like a raccoon but I couldn't tell. She was dressed in white leather or perhaps a pliable lycra polymer... anyway, it had too many zippers and I didn't like it. She was in a cell with a small cot, and was reaching through the bars trying to reach something on a desk nearby.

"You think she's in trouble? Should we help her?" he asked me. What an idiot.

"Hellooo? She's the assassin!"

"What assassin?"

"GAAA!" I pulled at my ears in frustration. How thick could he be?

"The one that tried to kill- wait! What are you doing? Don't go in there!" too late, he'd already opened the door and let himself in.

"Hey, what's up? You in trouble?" he asked her.

"OF COURSE SHE IS! She's an ASSASSIN!"

"Bah, you and your assassin nonsense."

The woman looked at us as if we were insane.

"You want that thing on the desk?" Sonic asked her, moving toward it.

"SONIC, DON'T GIVE IT TO HER!"

"Why not?" he picked it up and handed it to her through the bars.

"YOU NINCOMPOOP!"

"Thank you, I appreciate it." The woman said, smiling. The object, as it turned out, was a sheath, and she pulled a long sword from it.

"SONIC! LOOK OUT!"

"Whoa, she IS an assassin, then!"

She flipped the weapon in her hand, surprisingly pointing it to her own midsection.

"What's she doing?" Sonic squeaked.

"Fools, you know nothing of honor..." She whispered, closing her eyes, sucking a breath.

Just as she was about to plunge the sword into her own body, Sonic performed a violent spindash at the door, breaking it from the hinges, then snatched the weapon from her.

"Why would you do that? Why? That's so STUPID!" he berated her, hand clenching the white hilt angrily. I'd never seen him like this, actually... it was interesting.

Just then a servant- who happened to be a rabbit- came sprinting through the door, panting.

"I heard a noise... oh... What happened?"

"She tried to do herself in! I don't get it!" Sonic said, handing the rabbit the sword.

"Oh, she's been trying to do that all day. Something about honor and seppuku. No idea. Hey, thanks though." The servant said, taking it.

"You shouldn't be here, though. Why don't you move along?"

"We're gone." I said, grabbing Sonic by the arm and dragging him out the door.

"Bye! Seeya!" he said cheerfully, waving. What an idiot...

-o-

"STOP! CEASE! DESIST!" Rouge screamed, chasing the hyperactive ferret through her house.

"I DUN WANNA TAKE A BATH! I DUN WAAANAAAAAAA!"

"Rouge, if you need help..." Shadow offered, cracking his knuckles.

"No, I'm fine..." she stopped to pant for a moment, smoothing some stray hairs that had come loose from her bun from her face. She looked as disheveled as any average stay-at-home mom would look after almost two weeks of seven-year-old antics.

Nikki made a dash for the front door, giggling, then almost fell over in shock when Shadow appeared before her.

"eek... scary person..."

"Must we really continue this? Go take your bath."

"NEVAH!" and she turned tail and fled.

She squealed in fright as she found herself picked up and slung over a shoulder. Shadow calmly proceeded to carry her up the stairs.

The bath was readily drawn, bubbles and everything.

"Now, can I leave you in here to take the bath yourself, or do I have to throw you in clothes and all?"

She was quiet in contemplation for a moment.

"I'll be fine."

He let her down.

"If you make a mess, you'll be cleaning it up."

"I won't splash."

He nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

"Wow. You have a way with kids." Rouge said approvingly.

"Why would you say that? A good threat works on anyone." He replied with a smirk as he came down the stairs.

"Weird... I've never seen you like this. Even after... I mean, well, you're different."

He tilted his head at her quizzically, stopping at the last stair.

She shook her head, chuckling. "Nevermind. I just thought of something."

"Penny for your thoughts, Rouge." He smiled.

She laughed softly. "I was just trying to imagine you as a father."

His eyes widened. She didn't know the truth... Strange coincidence...

"And...?"

"And I think you'd make a good one."

He forced a chuckle, dragging a nervous hand over his quills and looking away. "Sure, Rouge. I bet."

-:-

Her door was open slightly, I remembered... I had crept from my own sleeping quarters after another long day of training. Despite how my limbs ached, I wasn't tired. Not in the least.

I was so young at the time, I was still easily frightened by my own overactive imagination. I was hoping she'd let me sleep in her room just one more night...

I heard... something... something I'd never heard before... it sounded like speech, and yet it wasn't like someone talking. I couldn't understand what it might be...

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better"

"Maria...?" I squeaked timidly, pushing open her door a little more.

She looked up with a start as she had been brushing her hair. "Shadow! What are you doing out of bed?"

I quickly scrambled to her bed and climbed into her lap, curling up before she could protest. At the time, when tucked into a ball, I may have been no bigger than a basketball.

She laughed at this, hugging me and tickling at my sides. I couldn't help but reduce to helpless giggles.

"Hey Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better"

I looked to her small stereo, ears twitching.

"What's that?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Oh, eh..." she sat in thought for a moment, rubbing the back of her slim neck.

"You know how I sing to you at night?"

I nodded. "An' when I'm scared."

"Yes, exactly. They're singing too, except they sing because it's fun... and ... other people enjoy it."

That made sense... I looked at my hands for a moment, leaning back against her and thinking.

"But what's all that other stuff?"

"Other stuff? Oh, that's music, sweetie. They use instruments to make the music to sing to."

"...okay..."

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder

I woke with a start as something hopped onto my chest. I gasped, trying frantically to get the thing away from me, then stopped when I heard it snicker.

"I scared ya! I scared ya!" Nicole sing-songed, making a face barely visible in the dark.

"You don't want to make me angry." I growled low. She took the hint, hopping off and scurrying away.

I let myself drop back to the soft cushions, sighing. It seemed so much more real than it had been before... The scene was so vivid. The only thing missing was her face. Just the two blue eyes... no face.

Hey Jude, don't let me down
You have found her, now go and get her
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better...

"I had to have heard that song somewhere..." I whispered to myself. The melody was so clear in my mind, it was as if I were listening to it... where were all these songs coming from all of a sudden?

"Shadow?" Rouge said croakily nearby. I hadn't heard her come down the stairs... strange...

"Hm?"

"Were you... singing?"

"... No... Why?"

"I... thought I heard singing..."

I sat up and looked at her, frowning.

"Have you ever known me to sing?"

Her dark form shrugged. "You could have done it in your sleep...?"

I lay back down again, smiling and shaking my head. "Go back to bed, Rouge."

((ok, I G2G. I may update later, I have no idea if I'll be continuing because I'm not "allowed". Bye.))